Congratulations to our Rain Garden Seed Kit winners! The winners will win one of 50 rain garden seed kits from Blue Stem Natives. The kits will be sent by mail.
Click here for resources to help you create your own rain garden.
Here are the answers to the entry questions:
What does a rain garden do?
Help prevent polluted stormwater from entering our waterways
Help control flooding
Help replenish our aquifers
* All of the above.
Lawns can generate up to how much runoff as pavement?
30%
60%
* 90%
How often should I water my rain garden?
* Water every other day for first 2-3 weeks until growing well.
Water every day for first 2-3 weeks until growing well.
Water two times a day for first 2-3 weeks until growing well.
The Rain Garden Seed Kit contest was sponsored by our WaterSmart towns: Cohasset, Duxbury, Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Marshfield, Norwell, Pembroke, Rockland, Scituate and Weymouth. The WaterSmart programs are based on the belief that education is key. Since its creation, WaterSmart has educated thousands of local school-age children, adults, and businesses on water conservation, stormwater pollution, where their water comes from, and how to care for it.
The winners are:
Laura Accettella * Patricia Anderson * Sandy Bacon * Leigh Biggins * Suzanne Brown * Ann Callanan * Christina Campbell * Lisa Chapman * Donna Clancy * Natalie Clark * Karen Coghlan * Kim Dixon * Michael Donovan * Kerstin Dorbert * Gregory Doyon * Suzanne Edsall * Adrienne Fink * Jay Flanagan * Peter Galvin * Allison Glennon * Michelle Hadley * Anne Horgan * Meredith Klingerman * Michael Lamond * Deborah Lasala * DawnMae Lucas * Susan MacCallum * Jennifer MacDonald * Sandra MacFarlane * Tom Maloney * Margaret Mark * Jacqui McCloskey * Maryann McDonald * Sharon McElroy * Amy McKenna * Natasha Misanko * Susan Neiman * Walter Norkus * Stacy Pala * Lauren Quinn * David R Ronan * Della Shepherd * Kate Smith * Susan Solis * Mary Sullivan * Carrie Sylvester * Janet Tierney * Justin Wasserback * Lisa White * Sue Zola
The seed kit will contain:
| Species | Common Name | Description | Bloom Time | Host to: |
| Zizia aurea | Golden Alexanders | 1-2′ yellow | May-June | Zizia aurea is a host plant for the Black Swallowtail – which lay eggs on umbelliferous plants in the Apiaceae family, including parsley, parsnip and dill. |
| Asclepias incarnata | Rose milkweed | 3-5′ pink | June-August | Milkweed is the host plant for Monarch butterflies. |
| Rudbeckia hirta | Black-eyed Susan | 2-3′ yellow | June-August | Black-eyed Susan is a larval host for Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) and Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia) butterfly. |
| Eutrochium dubium | Coastal Joe Pye weed | 3-5′ purple | July-September | Coastal Joe Pye weed is host to the Ruby Tiger Moth. |
| Verbena hastata | Blue vervain | 2-5′ purplish-blue | July-September | Verbena hastata is a host plant for caterpillars of the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). |