Rain Gardensare another way to capture water in your xeric garden. With the climate changing so rapidly rain rarely falls in carefully measured amounts at the right time for your garden. Usually, it's either drought or torrents. Building rain gardens can give the soil in your garden a longer time to soak up the storm water preventing pollution and erosion. It can also serve as a water reserve for times of drought. Five Reasons to Build a Rain Garden
Your Design...can be simple or complex. The least complicated is to build a swale or shallow ditch lined with plants that don't mind alternate inundation and drought. To be really accurately described as a rain garden, the swale should drain to a low depression also planted with perennial plants with similar characteristics.The depression isn't a pond, but a deeply dug area with very well draining soil underlain with rocks or other drainage. The important feature is that this will slow the water down, giving it a chance to soak into the subsurface. This prevents silt and pollution from getting to the streams and rivers. Planning is crucial when designing rain gardens so please research your project before starting construction. Keep in mind that building a rain garden can be a long term prospect. Fine tuning the plan to fit your specific needs and conditions can take time; spending enough time in the planning stage and observing water drainage patterns will give you the best possible success. 
Best Plants for Your Rain GardenSearching out plants that are native to your area will give great results, as they'll be adapted to the local climate and growing conditions.Other non-native plants with similar needs and which tolerate wet feet at times will also work well. Many sedges, or Carex species, are adapted to seasonal changes in water levels, as well as other grasses. Some can be hard to find locally, so seek out mail order sources of ornamental grasses, perennials and native plants.
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