People who visit the garden always ask “what did it look like before?” This short video shows how Justin Durango and his team from Garden Harmony transformed an overgrown garden into a wildlife paradise. I asked for a basin to catch rain from the roof and send it to a rain garden in a natural dip below the patio. He came up with a more extensive and elegant design.

Special thanks to Bryant Szabo, who worked with Justin most days, and to Justin’s wife Lindsay, who helped in many ways, from planting to moving rocks.

Thanks to Raleigh’s Rainwater Rewards Program and Project Manager Justin Harcum for providing financial and technical support for the rain garden. And of course, thanks to my aunt, Evelyn Jackson, without whom a project of this magnitude would not have been possible.