Buescher Family Rain Garden

The Buescher Family
Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District
Sarah Couchman Landscape Architecture, LLC

The Buescher family reached out to the Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District (NVSWCD) with concerns about stormwater runoff issues on their property. They received a technical assessment through the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) which determined that due to their steep front yard, impervious surfaces, and proximity to the street where runoff flows to a nearby storm drain, the property would be eligible for VCAP cost-share. The Bueschers worked with Sarah Couchman Landscape Architecture, LLC to create a design for their front yard, calibrated to manage the flow of stormwater from multiple sources. The 360-square foot rain garden manages roof water, driveway runoff, and even a neighbor’s downspout. The adjacent plantings help to integrate the rain garden into the overall landscape. In total, the front yard manages runoff from more than 1⁄4 acre of pervious area and about 2,000 sf of impervious area. The rain garden and plantings also attract a lot of interest from neighbors and passersby.

Because the Bueschers also enjoy spending time in their new landscape, they often find their yard sparks conversations about what we can each do to reduce the negative impacts of stormwater. The Bueschers are also native plant lovers with an expansive back yard native garden in addition to their VCAP projects. They enthusiastically share their experience (and seeds!) of turning their lawn into habitat. In addition to casual conversations with neighbors, they have hosted garden tours for the Ayr Hill Garden Club and a local plant group. Inspired by their parents’ projects, the 11th grade member of the Buescher family has been working hard to have a Native Seed Library installed at a local community center for her Girl Scout Gold Award. It has been exciting to see how one project, with a relatively small footprint, can be so far reaching!