Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
Make rain music Install a unique water feature
RUN A RAIN CHAIN FROM YOUR GUTTER
there’s nothing like the sound of rain on a tin roof – from a tinkle, to a splosh, to the pounding of a summer storm. But if you don’t have a tin roof, you can still delight in these summer sonics by replacing a drainpipe from your gutter with a rain chain. And you can gather the rainwater that has not gushed into the stormwater system by channelling it into a barrel or bowl and using it later on your garden. Practical? Yes. Aesthetic? Also yes. Melodic? Absolutely!
1, 2 IT’S A RAIN GAIN
Establish a rain-chain garden in a difficult corner with plants that love the lingering wetness. The splashes from the rain chain will hit the leaves then dribble into the soil, creating a little oasis in a bleak spot. Meanwhile, a basin or barrel, or even a birdbath, collects the rest of the water.
3 peaceful, tranquil and waiting for the music
If you want to create an Asian-inspired garden, a rain chain falling into a shallow pond gives it a quintessential Japanese feel. Add a stone pathway – or ‘dry stream bed’ – mondo grass, juniper, clipped balls of box and maples for a woodland effect.
4 Waiting for your cup to runneth over
The cups soften the noise of rain falling down a chain and each creates an individual cascade of water. There’s nothing left for a birdbath unfortunately, but it does provide a pretty perch!
5 Runs rings around a run-of-the-mill downpipe
You can opt for a simple rain chain without the fancy cups or funnels, but you can add interest with the design and structure of the links.
6 mix the rain music with Heavy metal
Include big, rugged and rusting rain chains in a sustainable garden bed. Plants that will benefit from the water run-off i nclude the strappy-leafed New Zealand flax, the big-leafed Indian rhubarb and Przewalski’s Golden Ray (Ligularia przewalskii) with their dainty yellow flowers on long stalks.