Catch the Water

04/17/2026

It’s fun when our beliefs, our words, and our actions are recognized for the miraculous things that they are…

“𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐛𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.”

We’re grateful to Chris Anderson of Catch the Water, a valued Love Your Alley partner, for putting words to what drives our work every day.

Nature thrives because of countless nearly invisible, often misunderstood creatures—the foundation of the food web that supports us all. When we plant with intention, we’re not just beautifying spaces—we’re restoring balance, resilience, and life.

Thank you, Chris, for your partnership and for reminding us that small actions can have powerful ripple effects. 🌳🦋🐝

04/16/2026

Free Tree Alert: I picked up some bare root trees and shrubs from Green Columbus today, including some abandoned trees available for free:

FYI Green Columbus had lots of abandoned bare root trees and shrubs available, so I grabbed some. I have almost 50 each available of the canopy trees on this list, and a lot of Buttonbush. Quantities vary on the rest of them, but feel free to ask.

Some are already designated for community projects, so the pick up schedule for extras has not been defined yet for these extras. Please be patient on that, but feel free to let me know you’re interested — and how many. I live on Nelson Road halfway between Broad and 5th Avenue.

If you’ve been wanting to do contour Swales on your property, now’s a good time to do it if your soil is dry enough. I’ve had 90% success rates planting native bare root trees and shrubs on berms of swales, even when clients don’t or rarely water after planting day. Nanny Berry, Muscle wood and buttonbush can actually be planted inside swales and rain gardens too. Most of the rest would do better on the edge of a water harvesting feature, or on a berm.

Witch hazel
Red twig dogwood
Flowering Dogwood
Sugar Maple
Sweet Gum
Bur oak
Black walnut
Beech
Persimmon

Buttonbush
Nannyberry
Musclewood
Swamp White Oak
American Plum

04/13/2026

It’s time to eat Cup Plant, Silphium perfoliatum. This is an attractive, aggressive native plant suitable for creating lots of quick habitat in large rain gardens and large yards. In smaller rain gardens, it requires thinning. Today I thinned my patch by eating lunch! This time of year the leaves are quite mild, akin to spinach. In summer, Cup Plants are statuesque sunflower-like plants that grow on strong stems taller than our heads.

04/11/2026

✨ We had a great time at The Native Plant Backyard Challenge at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center today! We were happy to visit with our ecologically minded friends and partners, including
, , and more! 🌱

Thanks for having us !

💧 🌧️

04/01/2026

Here’s a tale of two birches... One little River Birch was planted all on its own in a sunny field, on a slope, which is a poor site for this species UNLESS there’s a contour swale, rain garden or spring nearby. The other little River Birch was nestled in a low, moist area that gets wet in spring, in partial sun. The first part of the name “River Birch” should give us a clue about where Nature would plant it, and how to set up the tree for success.

The roots of trees must be happy; if they’re not happy, the above-ground parts can’t do their job. When roots are stressed, diseases are more common — and the tree lacks the immune strength to fight it.

Swales on contour are a godsend for planting sunny fields like the one on the left. Every acre receives 27,000 gallons of water per inch of rain; that’s the size of a backyard swimming pool. With swales on contour, every time it rains a decent amount, the swales catch excess water and spread it across the landscape. That water infiltrates into the soil deeply. Deep water infiltration means deep, resilient roots, including those of trees planted nearby. And that means the above-ground parts of trees can do their jobs.

My bare root tree and shrub survival rate on the berms of contour swales is 90%, even on sites where the property owners never provide additional water.

Habitat and water harvesting go hand in hand. It’s about time people start paying attention to that.

03/25/2026

This is right up our alley. Ohio has a tremendous diversity of native plants that can tolerate wet edges that dry up between rains. That water is a resource for beauty, caterpillars, dragonflies, bats, amphibians and more. Nice assembly of Ohio natives shown here!

Most gardeners see a soggy corner and think drainage problem. That wet ground is actually rare habitat — the kind that supports frogs, dragonflies, songbirds, and beneficial insects that dry borders never will.

🌊 Flowers for wet soil

✓ Cardinal Flower (Zones 3–9) — Scarlet spikes in moist soil that draw hummingbirds from midsummer through early fall.

✓ Blue Flag Iris (Zones 3–9) — Native iris with violet-blue blooms that naturalizes in wet clay and shallow standing water.

✓ Joe Pye W**d (Zones 4–8) — Towering mauve-pink domes that attract late-season butterflies and shelter small birds.

✓ Marsh Marigold (Zones 3–7) — Bright golden blooms in early spring. One of the first nectar sources in boggy areas.

✓ Swamp Milkweed (Zones 3–6) — Monarch host plant that thrives in soggy soil. Pink flower clusters feed adult butterflies.

✓ Turtlehead (Zones 3–8) — Snapdragon-like blooms in late summer. Hosts Baltimore checkerspot butterfly larvae.

🌿 Structure and cover

✓ Sweet Flag (Zones 4–11) — Low iris-like foliage with a spicy scent. Stabilizes wet edges and shelters amphibians.

✓ Fox Sedge (Zones 3–8) — Native clumping grass that tolerates seasonal flooding. Dense cover for frogs and ground-nesting insects.

✓ Elderberry (Zones 3–9) — Fast-growing shrub with white flowers and dark berries that feed over 40 species of songbirds.

✓ Buttonbush (Zones 5–9) — Spherical white blooms on a shrub that grows in standing water. Magnet for bees, butterflies, and waterfowl.

✓ Royal Fern (Zones 3–9) — Tall arching fronds in perpetually damp shade. Shelter for amphibians and a cool microclimate below.

A wet corner doesn't need fixing. It needs the right plants — and then it becomes the most alive part of the garden. 🌿

03/22/2026

We had so much fun at the Worthington Pollinator Party today! We educated folks about how to support wetland-dependent wildlife by capturing rainwater and planting natives! And we got to show off our beautiful Cecropia Moth, Luna Moth, Spicebush and Black Swallowtails. 🐛🦋

Thank you for having us! Happy Spring 🌱

03/19/2026

Rainwater Harvesting can be useful for native landscaping in both wet sites and dry sites. Rain is a resource, as long as it’s not concentrated within 10’ of your foundation. For yards with puddles that drain within 24 hours, a rain garden can be as simple as removing sod from the area, mixing in a SMALL amount of compost, and planting native plants that can tolerate both wet and dry conditions. Ohio has an INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY of native plants, so there’s lots to choose from that support native beneficial insects, amphibians and birds. For yards that drain slowly, it takes more effort and planning, but careful excavation can provide “high and dry” pathways through a landscape that celebrates water abundance without drowning in it.

09/22/2025

We had a blast showing off such majestic caterpillars at Autumn Arborfest this weekend!🐛

09/18/2025

I’m thrilled to be able to observe these Snowberry Clearwing Moth caterpillars up close. Let’s grow more Common Snowberry, Dwarf Bush Honeysuckle, and Coralberry shrubs in order to support the profoundly rich biodiversity of Central Ohio!

09/17/2025

Meet Chris Anderson - aka: Captain Rainstorm!⛈️

For over 31 years, Chris has been getting his hands dirty as a professional gardener. Starting with a focus on growing organic vegetables, he now specializes in native plant installations, especially ones that integrate innovative rainwater capture solutions 💧

While in Northern Arizona from 2005-2017, Chris co-founded Eden on Earth, an edible landscaping company based on dryland water-harvesting principles. Chris won awards both for educating citizens about utilizing native plants in landscapes and for the water-harvesting landscapes his company installed ✨

Back in his home state of Ohio since 2021, Chris is passionate about helping people return the incredible biodiversity of Central Ohio woodlands, prairies and wetlands to their very own yards. Chris celebrates plants and their interconnections with people and nature, including the moth and butterfly caterpillars he raises. Most of these caterpillars rely on eating the leaves of native plants, so typical garden center plants won’t do the trick 🐛

Founded in 2022, Catch the Water specializes in using stormwater and rainwater to create vibrant habitat, through the installation of rain gardens, native plant gardens, rain barrels/tanks, and edible landscapes 🌱

For a full list of Catch The Water services, visit catchthewater.com/ourservices 💦