Rain gardens are environment-friendly, cost effective and innovative ways of utilizing rain water for watering your garden. They can be built in different shapes and sizes to accommodate your needs. We discuss five ideas for creating a rain garden at home. 
Type of Rain Garden
The type of rain garden you build depends on the location you select. Water can be captured from the downpipe, gutters from the driveway, patio or overflowing rainwater tank. The type of rain garden also depends on the soil type, steepness and depth of land.
Building the Rain Garden
You can build your own rain garden and for this, you will first have to construct a planter/ box or excavate a trench depending on the type of garden you want to build. If you are planning to create an in ground rain garden, dig the area with a gentle slope away from the house. You can either use PVC liner or perforated pipes at the bottom of your raingarden. Also, an overflow pipe has to be installed to drain excess water in case of heavy rainfall and a flow spreader must be attached to the end of the downpipe or rainwater tank to evenly distribute water flow into the garden. 
Planting the Garden The plants have to be evenly spaced throughout the garden and you need to mulch it with gravel to lock the moisture. There are wide ranges of plants that are suitable for rain gardens and you can enquire with your local nursery about it. Versatile plants that can withstand dry spells as well as heavy rains will best suit the raingarden.
Sustaining the Rain garden
Once set-up, rain gardens are easy to maintain, especially if you have planted native plants on them. They need not be watered, mowed or fertilized, however, there are a few factors one must keep in mind to sustain it –
- Weed the garden till the plants have matured
- Evenly distribute water flow to limit erosion, you can place rocks to achieve this
- Replace plants and repair erosions as per requirement
Getting Help
You will need the assistance of a plumber to make modifications and diversions for storm water. There is enough information available on the internet, giving detailed directions about how to build your own raingarden. You can seek the assistance of a landscape gardener, if you are not confident or something goes wrong. Summary: Rainwater that flows through the garden can be channelized to harness natural resources and reduce water wastage. In this article, you will come across some simple ideas to create a rain garden.
