Make the Most of Spring Showers with a Rain Garden

Grants Available for Homeowners Investing in Sustainable Landscaping Solution

April 09, 2025

Rain gardens are beautiful, fun, easy and beneficial, and now, you can get financial assistance for planting one this year! Through the Rain Garden Grant program, the City of Tallahassee's Think About Personal Pollution (TAPP) program offers financial assistance to residential property owners within the City limits to help with the placement of rain gardens on their property. Grants of up to $175 help cover the cost of plants, mulch and compost used to establish the rain garden.

A rain garden is a slightly depressed area landscaped with flowers and other moisture-tolerant plants, shrubs and trees (usually natives) to replace areas of lawn or bare ground. Rainwater collected from a roof, driveway or lawn flows to this low spot and is drained naturally. Plants absorb the water, or it filters into the soil, where over time, natural processes break down pollutants. Slowing the flow of water with a rain garden helps prevent soil erosion and reduces runoff. Easy to maintain, rain gardens enhance the beauty of yards and attract birds, butterflies and other wildlife. They have been used all over the country to reduce stormwater runoff pollution and increase urban biodiversity.

Rain gardens are one of the City's many sustainability-focused efforts. Because of its commitment to fostering an environmentally sustainable community, the City continues to be a leader in the field and was recently named a 2025 All-America City finalist. For more information about TAPP programs, for a Rain Garden Grant application and how-to manual or to receive copies of TAPP brochures, please visit TAPPwater.org.