Rain Gardening in the South
Ecologically Designed Gardens for Drought, Deluge, & Everything in Between
Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford

Eno Publishers
978-0-9820771-0-8
$19.95 paperback
9 ¼ x 7 ½     
150 pages; color illustrations & photographs throughout
Published in 2009
Environment & Nature, Sports & Recreation

The first book directed at the consumer/home gardener market on this important new gardening movement, Rain Gardening in the South is a colorful, readable how-to guide on creating beautiful gardens that capture and use water that runs off roofs, driveways, and other hard surfaces in our landscape.

Written by horticulturalists Helen Kraus and Anne Spafford, Rain Gardening in the South helps gardeners use our most precious resource wisely. Rain gardens maximize rainwater, enhance the landscape, and promote environmental stewardship.

Runoff from our yards, roofs, and driveways contributes more than a third of the pollution that ends up in our nation's waterways. Rain gardens, which function as miniature water reservoirs and filtration systems, offer effective and visually pleasing solutions that dramatically reduce toxic runoff, resulting in cleaner rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Ironically, rain gardens are more drought tolerant than most conventional gardens. Because of plant selection and their ability to store water, rain gardens flourish during dry spells as well as rainy seasons, making them particularly conducive to the South and its unpredictable rainfall.

This four-color book addresses the specific environmental circumstances of southern gardens, including climate issues, plant selection, and soil types. The book offers readers step-by-step instruction on constructing such gardens, from the design stage to post-planting maintenance. It also includes extensive design tips, plant lists, and soil amendment instructions, as well as a chapter on troubleshooting.

Reviews

“With on-going urban growth and regional climate changes, Rain Gardening in the South provides timely lessons and much-needed factual information, reminding us along the way that we are better stewards of the environment with water-wise gardening.”
Bobby J. Ward, author of The Plant Hunter’s Garden

“Homeowners and landscapers have needed a concise guide into the uncharted waters of rain gardening in the South. . . . This book is filled with easy-to-understand principles we can apply to any landscape.”
Pam Beck, columnist, Raleigh News & Observer and author of Best Garden Plants for North Carolina