RainScapes Resources

This page lists helpful resources such as plant lists, how-to instructions, sales notices, and other tools to help you get your project underway. Please email us at RainScapes.Application@montgomerycountymd.gov with any questions or inquiries.

Plant Sales & Selections

Have you ever thought: Where can I find the proper native plants for my RainScapes project? or What are the plants best suited for my location? This list should help you.

• Plant Sales in the Area (PDF, 6 pp, 156K)
• RainScapes Suggested Plant List (PDF, 6 pp, 56K)
• Deer-Resistant sunny sites (PDF, 1 pg, 103K)
• RainScapes plants for school projects (PDF, 11 pp, 221K)
• Butterfly gardens (PDF, 6 pp, 522K)
• Fern gardens (PDF, 1 pg, 86K)
• Wildflowers and Ferns for Native Gardens in the Piedmont (PDF, 3 pp, 29K)
• Natural Associations of Trees and Shrubs for the Piedmont (PDF, 4 pp, 30K)
• Terrestrial Invasive Plants of the Potomac River Watershed  (PDF, 2 pp, 861K)
• Invasive Plants Wallet Guide  (PDF, 2 pp, 76K)    

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Rain Barrel Resources

• A list of vendors which offer rain barrels (PDF, 1 pg, 39K)
• Assembly instructions (with a parts list) for building rain barrels (PDF, 2 pp, 233K)
  These are the type of rain barrels offered through DEP's "Make & Take" workshops, including the recent Green Matters Symposium at Brookside Gardens. The parts used in our design are all readily available at most home improvement centers and hardware stores—except for the barrel. With these instructions, and a barrel, anyone can assemble a large capacity rain barrel for as little as $15.

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RainScapes Program Presentations

The presentations listed here can familiarize you with the RainScapes Program and low impact development techniques for stormwater management. If you are interested in having a staff member make a presentation to your organization, please contact us at Rainscapes.Application@montgomerycountymd.gov.

• RainScapes Techniques and Rebate Overview (PDF, 40 pp, 14.7Mb)
• Brookside Workshop (PDF, 26 pp, 3.4Mb)

Contractor Directory

Download a list of contractors which have attended the RainScapes Contractor Training Classroom course (PDF, 4 pp, 66K)

Disclaimer: The products and companies listed above are provided solely as an impartial reference and do not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the Montgomery County Government or any of its agencies.

The Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council is a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to researching, promoting, and educating the public about conservation-based gardening and landscaping practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The Council is committed to fostering changes in public attitudes and the implementation of practices that result in a cleaner, healthier and more beautiful environment benefiting residents and the region's biological diversity.

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Additional References

• Low Impact Development Center - Rain Garden Design Templates
  This site was developed through an NFWF grant to display a series of rain garden, or bioretention, design templates that can be used by landscape architects, landscape contractors, and garden clubs throughout the Chesapeake Bay. These designs are intended to promote the use of rain gardens and Bayscapes by providing a set of easily accessible high quality sustainable and maintainable designs for the landscape industry and citizens. A demonstration rain garden was constructed at Brookside Gardens and showcases rain garden plants for sun and shade.
• Residential Uses of LID (Low Impact Development)
  Hold the mouse cursor over any colored part of the image to identify the LID technique that is being used in this setting. Click on this same area to go directly to the relevant design page.
• Landscaping for a Healthy Planet
  So you're interested in learning more about planting an environmental landscape? As you'll find in this site healthy and native landscaping is becoming more popular every day! It's fun, easy, and you can plant an environmentally friendly garden anywhere; your backyard, a rooftop, even on an abandoned city block. So come, join us, and learn more about how you can save time, money, and have fun while protecting the environment.
• BayScapes: Conservation Landscaping
  Today, few of us have the time or resources needed to maintain a formal landscape. As a result, people are exploring alternatives to traditional landscapes, and many have responded with a more natural yard. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, this style is called BayScaping. BayScapes are environmentally-sound landscapes benefiting people, wildlife and Chesapeake Bay. BayScaping advocates a holistic approach through principles inspired by relationships found in the natural world.
• Using Rain Gardens to Reduce Runoff
  Slow it down, spread it out, soak it in!, Dec. 3, 2008 - Learn about Rain Gardens on this EPA webcast. Three presentations detail rain garden basics.
• Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping, Chesapeake Bay Watershed
  This booklet published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services provides an insight into the benefits of conservation landscaping as well as detailed plant information.
• Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife and Native Plants
  A feature on the website: "What Should I Plant Where I Live?" provides suggestions for native plants appropriate for your area. The new paperback edition of Bringing Nature Home includes: An expanded resource section that details which plants attract specific butterflies and moths; Updated regional native plant lists for all of the United States: Southwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, New England, Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest; as well as Enhanced color photography of native flora and fauna.

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