Living Rainscapes: Design, Installation and Maintenance

Co-Creating this RainWater Channel to Slow the Flow from eroding the hillside into the driveway and beyond... Still have more rocks to fill in for creating the Dry Creek Bed... Love this project with Sylvia Jean!!!

Rain Barrel Setting #1: by Living Rainscapes!

Use only natural products on your lawn to avoid over feeding these algae in our creeks!

Check out this bright & bubbly algae in Tannehill Branch Creek at JJ Seabrook Greenbelt! Filamentous algae (chains of single algae cells that create long threads) is a natural part of our creeks. In low numbers, this algae benefits fish & other aquatic life by consuming excess nutrients & increasing oxygen levels in the water… look at all those bubbles! However, excessive amounts of nutrients from fertilizer washing into the creek causes the algae to “bloom” or spread too rapidly, choking the habitat, depleting the oxygen overnight, and killing off aquatic life. Visit www.GrowGreen.org to find out how to fertilize your garden without harming creeks!

Living Rainscapes can help you design a garden plan to help increase your pervious cover and soak rain water in onsite!

Pervious vs Impervious Cover For more information please visit, austintexas.gov/watershed

Newest project: planting native butterfly flowers!

Co-creating the base for this youngster's edible teepee garden!

Slow the Flow, before it hits the creeks by installing Berms and Rain Gardens!

Congratulations to Zakaryya Vilanilam, our Watershed Detectives Award winner at the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival! Recent floods inspired Zakaryya to design his project, "Eco-Toxicology: Effect of toxic pollutants on pond water organism Gammaridae (aka Micro-Shrimp),” which showed that pollution washing into local creeks & ponds harms our native micro-shrimp. Learn more about our Watershed Detectives program at www.austintexas.gov/watersheddetectives.

When I create a Rain Garden, around half of the plants used are Native Grasses, as they can send roots into the earth up to 6 feet deep!

Congratulations to Ben Kovach for winning our Hydrofiles Award at the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival! Recent Texas floods inspired Ben to design his project, “Comparing Native and Non-Native Grasses in Flood Control.” His experiment showed that the grasses native to Texas absorb & hold rainwater better than non-native grasses. Learn more about our Hydrofiles program at www.austintexas.gov/hydrofiles. Leander ISD

Yesterday's job, trimming and weeding! First time trimming a Semi Palm!

Time to plan now for your Rainscape and receive a rebate from the City of Austin! Contact me for your Free Consultation and have your Rainscape installed this Spring!

Rain Gardens are a part of Austin's Green Stormwater Infrastructure! Call Gretchen at 512.317.5019 to plan yours for the Spring!

We won the national Water Environment Federation’s prestigious award for best, large city Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)! MS4 is the network of pipes, ditches, & ponds that collect and manage Austin's stormwater. We are proud to serve Austin residents and provide a variety of services to reduce the impacts of flooding, erosion & water pollution. https://tinyurl.com/y75y2qyt

Keeping busy raking in the Sunshine.... I love my job!