Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Wednesday - July 22, 2009

From: Decatur, IL
Region: Midwest
Topic: Rain Gardens
Title: Installation of a bioswale in Decatur IL
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I want to install a bioswale in a 15' wide, 50' long ditch on a relatively steep hill. The ditch already has rip rap in it. Do I need to remove all the rip rap before starting construction, or can I use it to my advantage? Can I make the rip rap less wide, then plant a wide strip of native grasses and wildflowers on either side?

ANSWER:

You may have come to the wrong place with this question. Construction is way out of our line of expertise. We do native plants, not rip rap. In fact, we don't even know what rip rap is. A new kind of music?

What we can do is give you some references to previous answers on bioswale construction, which, in turn, have links to websites where they do understand construction, and probably even know what rip rap is. Now, when you get to the point of selecting native grasses and plants to put in that bioswale, please let us know, and we'll do our best to give you a good list of grasses and wildflowers native to Illinois that can function well in that environment. You'll find them somewhat repetitive, as Mr. Smarty Plants is not above using previously published answers for reference. You know, why invent the wheel more than once? One link, on bioswale construction, was no longer active in the first and third answers, but we found another and replaced it.

For North Carolina, May 14, 2009

For Indianapolis, March 7, 2009

For Baltimore, August 31, 2008

And, because we really hate to admit that Mr. Smarty Plants doesn't know everything, we went looking for definitions of rip rap. This first one is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Riprap — also known as rip rap (especially in Texas), rubble, shot rock or rock armour — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion."

From Storm Water Authority.org Riprap

We find we often learn more from the questions we are asked than the customer probably learns from our answer. And, you have to understand; with only about a teacup of rain for the year in Austin, we don't have a whole lot of call for drainage solutions. Nothing to drain. 

 

 

More Rain Gardens Questions

Rain garden Plants for Colorado
April 22, 2010 - Can you recommend native plants for a rain garden in Colorado Springs
view the full question and answer

Bioswale for Indianapolis
September 13, 2009 - The city of Indianapolis has a very historic Central Canal, which was built in the 1830s. Due to erosion, the parent company of Indianapolis Water, Veolia, has proposed covering the banks with a type ...
view the full question and answer

Pond Plants for Eureka Springs AR
May 16, 2012 - I have a 1 acre pond that we are cleaning up. This area will be used for recreation and fishing. We plan to put native rock around some of the edges and need perennial plants that do well in rocky are...
view the full question and answer

Plants for a bioswale in TX
February 18, 2011 - Dear Mr.Smarty Plants, What kind of plants are best suited for a bioswale in Edinburg, Texas?
view the full question and answer

Edible Plants for a Virginia Rain Garden
October 21, 2009 - Can you recommend edible plants that would be appropriate for use in a rain garden? I'm located in Charlottesville, VA, but this can be in general as well.
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.