When it rains, it pours. At least that’s the case when it comes to Tony Lehman’s front yard in Idlewylde, a neighborhood just south of Towson.

A video taken by the University of Maryland psychiatrist several years back shows what looks to be a river running several inches deep through his lawn and driveway. It’s all stormwater.

“It was really quite extreme,” says Lehman.

In 2016, he sought the help of a contractor to remedy the flooding, which he says was caused by an inadequate neighborhood storm-drainage system. That didn’t go to plan. But Lehman wouldn’t need to look very far, as it turned out, to find a plan B.

His son, Jackson, had just received his master’s degree in landscaping and architecture, and at his suggestion, the father and son made plans to install a rain garden in Lehman’s front yard.

So, what’s a rain garden?

Also known as biometric retention facilities, rain gardens are depressed landscape areas filled with native perennials, flowers, and shrubs. Typically built on natural slopes—as was the case with Lehman’s property—and planted using natural or engineered soil, these structures are designed to collect and treat excess stormwater runoff from compacted lawn areas and water-tight surfaces such as rooftops and walkways.

In Lehman’s case, the new addition would need to accommodate the runoff from his carport and driveway—as well as that of his neighbor’s—so he and Jackson had their work cut out for them.

At the top of the garden, the pair installed two dry creek beds, which use rocks to drain excess stormwater flow. Inside, weirs, or low dams, were added, along with an absorbing mixture of clay, soil, and sand. With the addition of some native perennials and pollinators, the father-son rain garden project was complete.

And today? There’s a lot less flooding.

New bulbs have been planted in the yard for spring. And Lehman’s green thumb is, well, greener than ever, thanks to his son.

“I cringe a little bit now to think about some of the things I’ve done to plants be- fore I learned from him,” the dad says. “I feel very proud of him.”

While increasing in popularity because of ecological awareness, for now, rain gardens remain a rarity in this neck of the woods.

According to a survey by University of Maryland Extension service, a resource for farmers and gardeners, only 2.5 percent of state homeowners have one.

However, for those looking to fix their flooding, there are sources of information out there. Maryland Sea Grant Extension and Blue Water Baltimore can help with everything, from locating the best local contractors and specialists to finding an ideal place to put down a plot. But before you can do any serious dirt digging, you’ll need to grab a few tools to help you get started.

“One is a shovel,” says Tim McQuaid, the store manager and water garden manager at Valley View Farms, with a laugh. In addition to weed barrier fabric and stones for constructing dry riverbeds, McQuaid suggests corrugated piping or straight PVC pipe to act as the garden’s rain spouts. To amend the soil, he suggests mixing it with equal parts Leafgro compost.

Last but not least, get ready to pick out some plants—but, contrary to what you might guess, try not to choose too many tropicals.
For rain gardens, McQuaid suggests clumping plants, like Lobelia Cardinalis, which are native to Maryland.

“We are zone seven, and that’s important because, the further south you go, the higher the zone numbers are,” McQuaid says. “That means plants that are listed from zone seven and lower will survive in this environment.

The view from the kitchen window into Kirsch Jones’ backyard is not what you’d expect in Charles Village, where rowhouses typically have postage-stamp-sized yards.

His vista reveals a lush sanctuary anchored by a water garden teeming with colorful fish. It’s a vision Jones had when he moved into the neighborhood in the 1980s—a peaceful refuge from the concrete urban jungle, with the sounds of water babbling in a fragrant, floral setting.

So, he began digging up the tiny yard to create a 1,600-gallon fish pond with stone waterways, a biological filter, a stream, a waterfall, and a mixture of perennials and tropical annuals. “It adds a lively oasis in the middle of the city and supports a diverse bird population,” Jones says.

“This backyard is like, ‘ahhh!’” concurs Jones’ friend Nancy Perlman. “The most Zen place I know. I swear it’s almost like being in church, but way better. It’s like the secret garden.”

Such reactions are the reason people create water gardens, bringing the landscape to life with the movement and sound of water and the animals it attracts, says Tim McQuaid, general manager at Cockeysville’s Valley View Farms, which has an extensive water-garden section. Of course, there’s some work and expense—between $500 and $3,000 for a self-install.

Where to begin? Well, you’ll need a source of electricity at the pond site. Then, McQuaid recommends a variety of materials. If you want to avoid concrete, you’ll need a layer of sand at the bottom of the garden excavation, a water-garden liner and liner fabric to protect the liner, plus fieldstone and flagstone to anchor and cover the liner and make it look natural.

If you want that waterfall action, you’ll need black waterfall foam, which seals the gaps between the rocks in your waterfall so the flow won’t be lost between the stones. Add to the list a pump, filter, and tubing, plus a shovel-handled steel tamper, used to compress soil or to create a raised area for a waterfall.

Next, you need a plan: Use a rope to lay out the shape. Now it’s digging time, requiring three levels: the rock shelf at four to five inches, a shelf—like a step—at nine to 12 inches, and the bottom at 18 inches or more.

“Cut the side walls of the water garden at a slight angle,” McQuaid says. “This will add support to the walls, so they don’t collapse. It’s also important that the ground outside the pond slopes away, so water from outside doesn’t come in.”

After the sand cushion has been placed on the pond floor, line the walls and shelves with liner fabric and install the liner. The pond should be finished by placing stones, known as coping, around the edge. Presto, it’s a pond—making your backyard, like Jones’, the most Zen place you know.

Roses have been a garden classic throughout history—inspiring the ancient Greeks to cultivate its sweet aroma into some of the first perfumes and world-famous poets to use their allure as soulful metaphors for love.

And whether it’s your first or fifty-first planting season, most gardeners fancy this timeless flower for its everblooming beauty and scent. But building a healthy rose garden can have its frustrations: They’re prone to disease, munching bugs, and mildew.

So how to avoid that? We consulted Scott Carbone, nursery manager at Valley View Farms in Cockeysville, who suggested a few rose breeds that look lovely, are relatively resistant to diseases, and will add a summer flair to your garden. And yes, planting in July will work if the roses are established when you buy them and get lots of water to make it through hot days.

Color Cocktail
These shrub roses come in multicolored shades of pink, white, and yellow and are easy to grow in a garden or patio container. Make sure they are planted in a nice, sunny spot and watered weekly.

English Rose Climbers
These elegant David Austin flowers can be planted up against walls or gates to make any garden charming. However, their location means they will require frequent watering, since the soil in these areas tends to be drier.

Knock Outs
Carbone said these self-cleaning, low-maintenance roses are great for beginner gardeners. Be sure to plant these bushes in a sunny location where they have lots of space to grow. Soon enough, your garden will be full of vibrant magenta, white, and yellow blooms.

Julia Child
Named after the celebrity chef, these shrub roses are butter gold and smell like licorice candy. They need full sun and regular watering, especially in extreme heat.

Bonica
Who would believe these charming little pink flowers would be the toughest rose? Bonica are pretty easy to care for, but avoid rinsing the leaves when watering the shrub, and prune any dead wood as it appears.

First Prize
Although hybrid tea roses are not known for their disease resistance, this Jackson & Perkins rose is the exception. Their long, pointed buds open into splashes of pink atop green leathery leaves. Carbone says these flowers need to be watered from the base and recommends clearing away any debris to make sure they have good airflow.

Time of the Season

November 1, 2014
Cockeysville

On a damp Saturday, the morning after Halloween, two-dozen hearty folks and curious kids squeeze inside the warmth of Valley View Farms’s garden center for the annual fall harvest “Great Pumpkin Seed Count.” For weeks, a couple thousand visitors have sized up their biggest pumpkin ever, a 1,725-pounder named “Gourdzilla,” writing down guesses at the number of seeds in the behemoth. At stake: a first place $300 gift certificate to Valley View, which, with its exotic squashes—plus other vegetables, herbs, trees, shrubs, and perennials—has become something of a holiday destination.

Delivered by truck from “up the river” and the size of a small car, the pumpkin’s walls are roughly a foot thick. In northern states, similar gargantuan gourds are carved into canoes for fall boat races.

Valley View’s seed count goes back 25 years now, beginning with a relatively smallish 755-pounder. “Breeding,” says retail greenhouse manager Carrie Engel, explaining the explosion in Sumo-like squash. “People ask, but we’re obligated to return all the seeds back to the grower.”

Counting duties actually don’t take long: This year’s total is 373, just below average. Although novice predictions go upward of seven figures, two years ago only a single seed was found. The disappointment today—other than that the winner isn’t on hand and will be notified by phone—is that “Gourdzilla” didn’t make it here, either, “over-ripening” a few days ago. “Where’s the giant pumpkin?” one downcast child asks Engel. “Oh, I am afraid we had to cut him open before he went bad. He’s out back now,” she says reassuringly, “resting in pieces.”

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First Role Model

November 3, 2014
North Gay Street

Hours before Michelle Obama’s appearance at an Anthony Brown-Ken Ulman “Get Out the Vote” rally, Tamara Jones is mostly succeeding in keeping her 12-year-old daughter and friends content in line outside Baltimore’s War Memorial Building. “Sandwiches, chips, juice, plus Halloween candy,” Jones says. “And they all brought their iPads or devices to play.”

The girls, however—Jones’s daughter Riaine, Kayla Arrington, Nevaeh Donaldson, and Tara Lowery—don’t know that the First Lady is actually going to be here today, which Jones has kept a surprise, offering Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake as the star attraction. “My daughter loves the mayor,” she says, noting that the sixth-grader at East Baltimore’s Henderson-Hopkins school has volunteered alongside Rawlings-Blake at neighborhood events. The mayor, in fact, is the first elected official to appear in the packed auditorium, followed by a roster of state Democratic politicos, including Lt. Gov. Brown, who eventually introduces the First Lady, sending the girls into a frenzy.

After a brief rallying speech, as Obama comes forward to greet the audience, the girls literally climb on the backs of nearby adults, thrusting their arms in the air for handshakes with the First Lady.

“I’m never going to wash this hand,” exclaims one of the girls.

“I got squished,” adds the smallest girl, Lowery, 9, nonetheless smiling and holding up a smartphone video of Obama.

“Do you think she should run for office?” someone asks Jones, who scored a hug from the presidential spouse.

“Why not? She’s smart, articulate, engaged in what’s going on—even fashionable,” Jones says. Bursting into laughter, she catches herself. “You were asking about the First Lady, not my daughter,” she smiles. “Yes, she should run, too.”

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Brass in Pocket

November 6, 2014
Towson

“Two weeks ago, program director Scott Mullins asked me into his office and closed the door,” recalls general manager Steve Yasko, as anxious former 1980s teenagers and twentysomethings wait outside WTMD’s studio for the station’s weekly “Live Lunch” performance. “He leans back and folds his arms, like he always does when he has something—good or bad—to tell me. He says, ‘We’re 48 hours away from confirming Chrissie Hynde.’ Hardest thing in the world for me not to tell anyone for two days.”

Beloved for her tough but tender songs and persona, the legendary The Pretenders front woman, true to form, comes out in black boots, torn jeans, and a black T-shirt. Promoting her album Stockholm, the 63-year-old sits down between two accompanying musicians, literally rolling up her sleeves for 45 minutes of classics like “Kid” and “Talk of the Town,” and new material—her keening, seductive alto and attitude as distinct as ever. One moment she is waving off an encroaching photographer, and the next she’s generously calling out Baltimore’s All Mighty Senators, three of whom are in the audience and opened for The Pretenders on their 2003 tour.

Later, guitarist Warren Boes recalls that the Senators initially had “no idea” how Hynde chose them to fill the prestigious slot. “We were intimidated, but had to ask when we finally met her, ‘Why us?'” he recalls. “She said she saw our CD and handed it to [Pretenders’s guitarist] Adam Seymour for a listen. She said she told him, ‘These guys must be good. They’re not making it on their looks.'”