Hi. I'm Pat. I live in downtown Ann Arbor within the Allen Creek floodplain. I have 2 rain garden spots I am considering. One would be fairly long and narrow, and would need to take in the front third of the house's roof runoff: It's got quite a slope, and this would be a fabulous way to get rid of a very scruffy lawn the has been infiltrated with an unmowable sedge. The other spot would take up part of an existing flower bed and a small patch of lawn--basically I would like it to go driveway to driveway. My neighbors to the north are already interested in this process. They have drainage issues. What you cannot really see in this picture is the enormous silver maple in the yard behind this one that shades a third each of their yard, my yard, and my neighbor's house to the north. One question that came to mind yesterday while listening to the discussion of distance from house, is how this would apply to dry wells. I had one put in several years ago, and I now suspect it may be contributing to the damp corner in the basement.

Deer resistant is tough when it comes to rain garden plants. Here are some that work for me: columbine, blue stemmed goldenrod, some grasses, witch hazel (some browsing but so far OK) bayberry, red cedar, wild geraniums like geranium macrorrhizum, wood fern, bleeding hearts. Milkweed are a deer favorite munchie!

Hi killwick - your photos didn't post. Would you like to try again? www.MasterRainGardener.org

Hi Joni, I know this is an old post, but how did your rain garden turn out? :)