330 Simpson Ave., Ocean City, New Jersey

Description

An Ocean Friendly Garden habitat was created in Ocean City on a property destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. A new raised house and landscape designed to meet OFG criteria for conservation, permeability, and retention. The lot is 40 ft by 115 ft. The entire project is designed to control water flow by the use of native plants, subtle grading, and permeable walkways and driveway. Four rain barrels capture and distribute water through moveable diverters according to seasonal conditions.

Josh Nemeth designed the landscape plan and supplied all of the plants, and also the shells for the driveway. His website and email is info@njwildlifegardener.com He is a great resource for native plants.

Before Superstorm Sandy, the property had a small ground level house right on the alley. The rest of the lot had native bayberries and other salt tolerant plant species. The new, bigger house is placed centrally on the lot, which allows controlled water gathering and distribution from each corner of the roof with the use of rain barrels and diverters. In the winter when the barrels could freeze,the downspouts are extended to join above ground pipes that direct water to the most permeable areas. The driveway is permeable, made of broken shells. We have been attending rain barrel-building workshops. We design each barrel to accommodate the maximum inflow and overflow. We have been painting nature scenes on every barrel, which helps make the whole project fun.