This morning, the rain garden at Newburgh Pointe at Edward Hines Park along the Rouge River was busy with American Goldfinches flitting amongst the shrubs, milkweeds, and thistles gathering seeds for their nests and young.
I caught this photo of a blooming milkweed (Asclepias) just after sunrise.
If you’re not familiar, a rain garden is a depression in the landscape, designed to trap runoff from storms and improve water quality. It provides opportunities for rainfall to soak into the ground and acts as a filter to pollutants as it absorbs water.
Within 48 hours after a major rainfall, rain gardens become a “dry garden.”
The rain garden at Newburgh Pointe never fails to disappoint me when I stop by. It attracts all kinds of insects, butterflies, birds, and other animals throughout the year.
In the spring, I’ll see migrating warblers; in summer, the goldfinches and many varieties of sparrows are active. The waterfowl can be seen throughout the year, except when the lake freezes completely over.
Check out what the rain garden looks like in the winter with my photo from last January.