As I was driving around I noticed two rain gardens which are at the maintenance extremes .
In the first case at Nipher Middle School, there is no maintenance and the garden is mainly filled with ten foot tall weeds. While there is a bit of Goldenrod and New England Aster, most of it is ragweed and some smart weed.
In the second rain garden, the management of this pizza joint apparently only saw a bunch of weeds and ordered everything cut down.
This goes to prove the importance of planning for regular skilled maintenance on any garden. Especially in schools and businesses, the leaders need to make an effort to sign-up or hire a skilled gardener to take care of the garden.
It’s a shame that so much money and effort is spent in the setup of new gardens, but eventually the garden dissolves and either Mother Nature takes over or the maintenance crew nukes everything.
Butterfly Gardening 