Rain Garden

Lately I have been thinking about stormwater run off. Which makes no sense as we have had NO rain for a long time. Indeed my drain looks barren and is now accumulating dirt, garbage etc (note to self - get drain cleaned). Anyway I encountered a great concept known as a rain garden. "A rain garden is a garden which takes advantage of rainfall and stormwater runoff in its design and plant selection. Usually, it is a small garden which is designed to withstand the extremes of moisture and concentrations of nutrients, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus, that are found in stormwater runoff. rain gardens are sited ideally close to the source of the runoff and serve to slow the stormwater as it travels downhill, giving the stormwater more time to infiltrate and less opportunity to gain momentum and erosive power." I think this is a great concept but making it a reality in a tropical climate might be a challenge. However I stand undaunted and have challenged my ecologist friend to come up with the right species that would work for the small area around my drain. I think it is workable and I plan to make this my 2010 project. With the right advice and hopefully not too much money I can activate my own "rain garden". Stay tuned for updates. In the meantime I battle the drought and the water company. So far I have refused to buy a tank. Let's see how long I last!