GARDENING: Creating a rain garden

Since I came to live in the west of Ireland, I have been trying to find the beauty in rain and these cool wet summers. That sunny dry period in June is a distant memory now and we are having to cope with more extreme weather conditions as the climate crisis progresses.
The ground is soaked and sun-loving plants look a little sad at this stage, but we can still enjoy water-loving plants like hydrangeas, ferns and heathers.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve gardened with so much obsession and curiosity, making a lot of mistakes and inevitably killing many plants.
Now that I have moved to a new site and am starting another garden from scratch, my priority is creating a sustainable garden with the serious climate crisis in mind. So, I am planning a ‘rain garden’ .
Firstly, I am planting more native trees; mostly hawthorn, oak, birch and mountain ash. These trees are well suited to a wet climate and sustain a lot of wildlife, as well as being relatively low maintenance.
The other day, I heard a radio programme dedicated to birch trees, comprised of music, poetry and folklore. This ancient pioneer tree tolerates wet ground and is valued in so many cultures as a symbol of love, growth, renewal and stability. The great thing about birches is that their canopy is relatively spread out while its small delicate leaves don’t cast a heavy shade underneath.
To create your own rain garden you can either use birches as nursing trees to under-plant, or simply plant the following moisture-loving or water-tolerant plants and shrubs.

What to plant
Hostas come in so many different shades of green and variegated leaves, they will brighten up your space. Slugs can be a big problem, but you can combat this by encouraging bird activity in your garden, or by using organic slug pellets that won’t harm other wildlife. Also, planting in big pots can add height, while also helping to keep the slugs away!
Japanese candelabra primulas come in many colours and flower in early summer. If you plant them en masse, they can be quite impressive. They don’t mind being waterlogged and self-seed freely over the years.
Any kind of iris (except Iris germanica, which requires sunny, well-drained soil) will work well. Iris sibirica varieties are very easy to grow, while Iris ensata (Japanese water iris) grows in water.
Hydrangeas flower from early summer to autumn and are food for windy sites. There are so many varieties to choose from, but make sure to check how tall they’ll grow!
There are so many varieties of rhododendrons now, and some of them tolerate non-acidic soil. If you have a small garden, Rhododendron yakushimanum is a compact variety with almost transparent orange-tinged-pink flowers from the rainforests of Yaku Island in Japan.
Perennials like ferns, ajuca, astrantia, aquilegia, astilbes, eupatorium, ligularia, rodgersia and even exotic Himalayan blue poppies are perfect for a rain garden.
Other shrubs including camelia, and spireas are good. And don’t forget moss! (For reference, check out Saiho-ji, a very famous Moss temple in Japan.)
When you plan your planting scheme, make sure the flowering time of the plants overlaps and creates consistency of interest in the garden all year round. Also, for a more-natural themed garden, create a dedicated area for moisture-loving bulbs, Fritillaria meleagris (snake’s head fritillary) and Camassia Orion is a good idea.
If you would like to have a focal point, cotinus (smoke tree) loves moist clay soil, but it needs a sunny site. When its fluffy candy-floss like flowers shine in the sun, it really looks like smoke! Flower arrangers love it.
Smoke trees come in many desirable colours, including the RHS award-winning Royal Purple, the soft green flowered Golden Spirit, the compact and pink-flowered Pink Champagne.
Last but not least to consider is the soil preparation for your rain garden. All the plants mentioned here love or tolerate wet soil, but it’s always better if the soil can provide air and nutrients. Mix the soil with plenty of organic matter (and grit, if your land has heavy clay soil).
Planning a rain garden will give you a different perspective and help you make the most of the weather that we’ve got – it might even make you appreciate the ‘beauty of wet and cold Irish summers’ my poet friend once described.

Eriko Uehara Hopkinson is a member of the Clew Bay Garden Trail. A chain of beautiful and unique private gardens, the trail opens to the public during summer to raise funds for charity (see www.clewbaygardentrail.ie for more). Each month, an article by a trail member will appear in these pages.