Ok, the rain garden is in. Start to finish on Sunday. 75 little native plants in there. and yes... because we're total geeks, a laser level was used start to finish because we built it on a little slope. we even planted dry natives on the berm. Dean will dig in the trench for the piping when he gets back from the boundary waters next week. we even filled to overflow and watched it go. we're lucky in this 30 yr old housing development that we have good infiltration. maybe even too fast... I hope the red lobelia and the all the sedges last. and we only had chip mulch (free) from all the storm damage, so I may have to rescue some plants if we get a good rain. and if we get some stormy rains as predicted tomorrow... well, I might be diverting that pipe, don't want to flood those little buggers out. What is a rain garden? It is an infiltration basin designed to catch the rain water.... ours is specifically diverted from a portion of our roof. it is about 12' x 7' x 8". We used native plants as they are successful in developing amazing root structures that will send the water to our groundwater aquifers. Keeping the stormwater off the roads! If you want to know more about rain gardens, check out http://www.raingardens.org. Just keep in mind that you need to plant natives, native to your area, not the plant species listed at these web sites.