Rain Garden Planned at Fountain Rock Park

Submitted by Alice Nemitsas
Naturalist
anemitsas@fredco-md.net
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Throughout last summer and fall, the topography of Fountain Rock Nature Park changed.  Among the changes was a new parking lot that was created in a vacant field. The area that used to allow cars now has grass and native shrubs planted at the historic battery of limekilns. 

When the new parking lot was finished, Jason Jenkins, Foreman with Frederick County Parks who had installed rain gardens at Libertytown Park commented that the newly created swale near the parking area would be a perfect place to install a linear rain garden.  He invited Kay Schultz, Community Restoration Coordinator, to view the area and help with advice.

Monocacy & Catoctin Watershed Alliance partner Terry Welsh, Conservation Planner with the Frederick Soil Conservation District agreed to design the gardens.  Jason Jenkins and his crew will excavate the existing soil and install the specified biofilter soil mix and river stone channel and berms this winter.  The gardens will be planted by late spring of 2009 and will help to catch and purify some of the run-off water from a large portion of the parking lot.  The native perennials that will be planted on its sides will help with erosion and also offer nectar to various insects in the park, including butterflies and honeybees.  The nature center has an observation hive and two support hives on the grounds to help with pollination throughout the area. 

The new rain gardens will be welcome additions to Fountain Rock Park!