Rain Garden Kits - launch new kits for those with water butts
According to the environment agency, eastern England is now in drought as a result of two consecutive dry winters with below average rainfall. There is a concern that there will be more widespread impacts on the environment compared to last year. The Environment Agency has already seen a number of fish deaths this year, birds will also suffer as suitable wetland breeding sites for wading birds dry up. Seven water companies have announced that a hosepipe ban will come into effect from 5th April, these companies include Thames Water and Southern Water. Rain Garden Kits is now offering a Rain Garden Kit for those with water butts.
Rain Garden Kits is an innovative and exciting range of garden accessories which take rainwater from the roof and put it to good use. Since forming the Fulham-based company a year ago, owner Chris Killingbeck has been amazed how much interest there has been in the kits.
Chris states “Water is such a precious commodity, but what a rain garden does is to capture not just some of the rain, but all of it. The soft rain water is simply ideal for growing orchids, rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, and kids will love creating their own wild wetland centre brimming with nature.”
Rain gardens are nothing new. In the Mediterranean, sun-kissed gardeners have been building sinks to store rain water for hundreds of years. More recently, rain water has been harvested in Australia and the USA as water becomes more valuable and populations increase.
As water is such a valuable resource, UK water companies are installing meters to limit household usage. In urban areas, rain water goes straight into the sewers and the concreting over of gardens for car parking adds to this dilemma.
Chris explained, “Rain Garden Kits offer an affordable and easy-to-build way of brightening up any garden in an extremely sustainable fashion. Customers don't even need to have a huge garden since the mini soakaway kit is perfect for growing wetland plants in a small, city garden
The Rain Garden Kits range is available at www.raingardenkits.co.uk
Example of one of the kits without a water butt:
Mini Planter Kit (without water butt) £144
This comprises of a basic rain garden kit without a pool. Ideal for growing wetland plants in urban gardens. Includes:
- 10m of flexible hose
- 27 x 48 soakaway
- Deep sided with seats and liner
- Overflow connector and cut off tap
Rain Garden Kits offer an herb wheel kit for under £100, which is perfect as a standalone feature or an aromatic addition to any rain garden. In fact, they offer a range of kits to fit all sizes and any location of garden, including the popular dunking pool kit for gardeners who want a ready supply of soft rain water.
The Met Office recently reported that it had been wetter last summer than 12 months ago when the UK had 267.7mm of rainfall, compared to 243.8mm in 2010. But this summer was drier than 2007, 2008 and 2009, when 323mm of rain fell that summer.
Rain garden Kits can now be found on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rain-Garden-Kits-Ltd/177612688964080, please like the page to stay up-to-date.
For more information contact redheadPR:
Maria Bretti on 07854 819 213 or email maria@redheadpr.co.uk
Emma De Maio on 07921 160 134 or email emma@redheadpr.co.uk
Editor’s notes:
Rain Garden Kits was formed in 2010 by business partners Neil Jenner and Chris Killingbeck and is based in Fulham, south-west London. Both businessmen have worked in advertising and sales in the city, before forming their own companies.
They developed an easy-to-build kit system for the small urban garden, bringing together suppliers of water butts, wooden ponds, wooden soakaway units/planters, herbs and aquatic plants to produce a rain garden kit.
Kits range from a small herb wheel priced at £61, and a basic rain garden kit, costing £109, to a complete large garden kit which retails at £610. Other kits in the range include a large herb wheel (£89), a mini soakaway kit (£239) and a gardener’s dunking kit (£290).
RainGardenKits offer nine complete packages, depending on the size of the garden and the number of components. For example, the small rain garden kit comprises a 100 litre water butt and plinth, a diverter, a 50 gallon hexagonal pool with seats, a bamboo channel and a connector, plus a 36in x 36in soakaway unit for £348.
There is a medium rain garden kit which retails at £552, leading to the large garden kit at £610.
All the kits delivered this Autumn/Winter do not include plants-all purchasers of Rain Garden Kits will be emailed in March 2012 and offered plants for their ponds, herb wheels and soakaway units.
RainGardenKits is a completely new business which plans to expand into other eco-friendly products and areas. Two projects on the horizon are to design a rain garden with bigger storage and a pump to beat the hosepipe bans, as well as looking to tap into the ‘grow your own’ market, by providing a kit to help gardeners harvest rainwater to feed their allotments.
What others have to say about Rain Garden Kits:
Don Potts, independent environmental consultant:
“Throughout the world people and wildlife are experiencing acute shortages of water. Even in the UK, many areas suffer regular droughts. The Rain Garden Kits provide not only an excellent way of collecting rainwater but also making a significant contribution to establishing mini wetlands in schools and gardens, benefiting a wide range of wildlife species. If you care about wildlife I cannot think of a better way of doing something positive than by building your very own rain garden.”
Rain garden Q&A:
What is a rain garden?
A rain garden takes the rain from your roof and puts it to good use. Even a small terraced house gets 5,000 gallons on each side of the roof each year. Soft rain water is ideal for your garden plants-particularly rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and orchids.
In urban areas, most rain water goes straight into the sewers which means during heavy storms the sewers overflow into our rivers. Part of the rain garden is a soakaway unit, which allows rain water to drain away naturally.
What does the rain garden comprise?
Our rain garden kits comprise storage units in the form of water butts, which then overflow into raised ponds. These can be ornamental units, with pumps or working ‘dunking’ ponds for quick watering can fill-ups, and which overflow into raised soakaway units where water-loving plants or vegetables are grown. The rain garden also has an herb wheel making the most of the soft rain water.
How easy is it to set up and maintain rain garden?
Very easy! Are kits are easy to assemble, with very straightforward instructions, and since all the units are housed above ground, no digging is required. Planning is simple too, and there is guidance on the Rain Garden Kits website www.raingardenkits.co.uk complete with a video, to show how to put together the garden.
Ponds can be placed on hard surfaces, so long as a layer of fine sand, old carpet or sacking is placed underneath, to protect the liner from sharp objects. The soakaway units need to be placed on free-draining soil and filled with a base of gravel and then loam mixed with compost.
The plants selected for the soakaways are water-lovers, so during a period of drought they will need watering from the water butt.
How are the kits delivered?
The butts and plinths come complete with the diverter and connectors inside the butts. Instructions are printed on the packaging of the diverter and connector. The ponds and soakaway units are flat packed and easy to assemble-instructions come with them.
Six to 10 days later, the plants will arrive. The pond plants are bare-rooted and come with containers which are filled with topsoil or aquatic soil. The plants for the soakaway units also come bare-rooted and should be planted quickly and heavily watered. They are water-loving plants so should be kept moist. The herbs come in tagged pots to keep a record of the herbs which will change depending on the time they are ordered.
How do you know if you garden is suitable for a rain garden kit?
Your garden is suitable if:
- It is larger than 11 square meters.
- It has a down-pipe facing the garden.
- It has a sunny aspect with no large trees to shade the rain garden.
- It is free-draining, with no puddling when it rains.
- It must be able to house a soakaway unit at least three metres away from the house or a septic tank.
- It must be flat, or slope away from the house.
What about the plants?
The plants selected for the ponds and soakaway units have been chosen for their compatibility with insects and butterflies. Bee and bird nesting boxes can be added, along with plant shrubs to attract butterflies. Children will love helping to create a rain garden.
What are the benefits of a rain garden?
The rain garden concept is extremely environmentally-friendly and, at a time of water metering by many water companies, economically-friendly on the wallet too! Even a small portion of a roof gets 5,000 gallons of rainwater a year which, if harvested, will save money and benefit garden wildlife.
With the kits, rain water will be diverted from flowing into the sewers to soak away naturally and will help to prevent river pollution. It also helps to use rain water during drought and hosepipe bans.
By harvesting rain water and holding it in butts and ponds, gardeners can create their own wetland centre as well as providing a plentiful supply of soft water for general watering duties.
So why have a rain garden?
Rain Garden Kits was set up to make harvesting rain water and putting it to good use more accessible. Harnessing the water from a household roof has plenty of environmental benefits and with a good rain garden it can also make the environment a special place to be.
The company handpicked the partner and suppliers to bring together the most suitable products for the garden.
Rain Garden Kits wants to tell everyone how much fun a rain garden can be!
Find Rain Garden Kits at: www.raingardenkits.co.uk with links on both Twitter and Facebook.
Contact Chris Killingbeck on 07867 503444 or email: chris@raingardenkits.co.uk
Neil Jenner on 07785 701266 or email: neil@raingardenkits.co.uk
