Plainfield Garden Club: Think rain gardens for Spring

The Conservation Committee (L - R):  Gail Sloan, Ginny Dughi,
Margaret Chowdhury, Kathy Andrews (Chair) and Janet Burchett.
Missing from the photo are Brenda Anderson and Diana Madsen.

Even though snow is dusting Plainfield as I write this and Spring is due at 6:15 PM, the Plainfield Garden Club would like you to think "rain gardens" as we start to think about getting outdoors and working in the yard.

The club's Conservation Committee has mounted a clever and instructive display at the Plainfield Public Library, illustrating what rain gardens are, how to set one up, what kind of flowering plants might be considered and the uses of a "rain barrel". You might be surprised to learn that a rain barrel can save you up to 1,400 gallons of water a year -- conservation of both natural resources and your wallet!

Times have certainly changed.

When we moved to Plainfield thirty years ago, I remember being slightly hassled by the city about our driveway, which is graveled.

An inspector actually wanted us to pave it over. We were able to get the demand set aside -- not because encouraging rain runoff to be absorbed by the ground was a good thing, but because the gravel drive was "grandfathered".

Since then, folks have become intensely more aware of what we as homeowners can do to help conserve and better the environment in which we all must live.

Stop by the Library and check out this great exhibit, which will be sure to inspire you. And keep an eye out soon as the ladies (and gents) begin to spruce up the Shakespeare Garden in Cedar Brook Park.

The Plainfield Public Library is at Park Avenue and West 8th Street and is an accessible facility. Parking is available in the 8th and 9th Street lots.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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