The increasing urbanisation as a result of the UK’s substantial population growth is putting additional pressures on drainage systems, heightening the likelihood of waterlogging and flooding in urban areas.
While rain gardens are a hugely effective method of absorbing water flow to combat this issue, they require expertly-designed steel landscape edging to truly maximise their waterlogging-prevention potential.
Typically filled with water-tolerant plants, rain gardens are utilised by landscape designers to manage stormwater runoff from pavements, roads and other hard surfaces.
Rain gardens have the added benefit of helping cities and large urbanised areas to reduce the urban heat island effect – caused by asphalt, concrete and other heat-absorbing materials creating ‘urban canyons’ that reduce cooling vegetation, generate waste heat from human activities and trap heat.
However, while they’re designed to aid water runoff and prevent flooding in nearby environments, rain gardens too can become waterlogged if poorly designed or not utilising other products and materials, such as steel landscape edging.
The challenges posed by waterlogged rain gardens exacerbate the importance of utilising expertly-designed and implemented landscape edging, such as RainEdge – Kinley’s premium rain garden steel edging.
Featuring integrated slots along the edging, RainEdge enables water to flow from surrounding impervious surfaces, such as concrete pathways and roads, directly into the rain garden for efficient and reliable drainage.
With a rain garden’s primary purpose that of managing water runoff, they often feature a depression that’s filled with engineered mulch or soil. Incorporating landscape edging, such as RainEdge, into the design means this soil or mulch will be kept securely in place – preventing it from washing away during periods of heavy rain.
By delineating clear borders and boundaries of the rain garden, steel landscape edging, such as RainEdge, is a hugely effective method of preventing grass and weeds from invading the designed area. As a result, the water-loving plants that were specifically chosen to thrive in the rain garden are kept protected from other invasive flora.
Utilising sturdy and well-designed landscape edging, such as RainEdge, means landscape designers and architects can provide comprehensive protection for rain garden soil. Consequently, this will be prevented from washing away and the structural integrity of the rain garden – especially on uneven, sloped or steep terrain – will be maintained.
Following a lengthy design process and the consultation of around 100 landscape architects who design rain gardens, RainEdge was created to provide a more reliable and efficient way of improving water flow in urbanised areas that feature impervious surfaces.
In addition to allowing for effective rainwater management, RainEdge supports plant growth and biodiversity, is fully recyclable and is flexible enough to be precisely installed around planters and other landscape features.
As a result, it is frequently specified and installed alongside rain gardens across the whole of the UK, providing these crucial areas with the effective and measured rainwater runoff they require to enhance urban environments, reduce the urban heat island effect and prevent waterlogging and flooding.
