Rain gardens are an excellent approach for low-maintenance, passive rainwater harvesting. Rather than collecting in a tank, which requires regular maintenance, water directed into a basin sized such that it should all seep into the ground within about 3 days. Our rain garden is planted with native grasses and wildflowers, and as a result never needs supplemental watering since all the plants living there are adapted to our climate.
First, a little overview video of the rain garden. This is where gutter water from our cottage roof drains.
Next, here are photos that progress backwards in time, showing the most recent pictures of our rain garden and working back to when we first created it. We expect to add more recent photos as time progresses.