Oswego tea, rain gardens

Rain gardens form a subtly concave, curved, oblong section of the land where water drainage collects, like the kidney of the garden. Planting deep-rooted perennials prevents soil erosion,very picturesque. Yesterday, after our hypertufa casting, some of us had conversation with a resident who lives near the Oswego/Tully intersection and he has a great rain garden going on.

We should look into the plant Oswego Tea (Monarda didyma). Herbal medicinal in the mint family (Lamiaceae)

a great "companion plant",

bright showy petals,

does well in moist soil of many types,

its pollen attracts helpful pollinators. and just because of its serendipitous name.

...they can yield results that go beyond a particular artifact. These transformations involve dealing with larger patterns, including patterns that may not be visible and patterns that vary over time...New landscape elements can become niches for species forced out of their original environment.

A Landscape Manifesto, D. Balmori