Here are some great links on rain gardens. Rain gardens are a great way to add character to a garden while reducing the water that runs off the property (that is a good thing). Eco Brooklyn is a rain garden installer but anyone with some time and interest in gardening can do it.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Glover Perennials, in Cutchogue, N.Y., carries a wide selection of native plants suitable for rain gardens; (631) 765-3546 or gloverperennials.com.
“Rain Gardens: Managing Water Sustainably in the Garden and Designed Landscape,” by Nigel Dunnett and Andy Clayden, is a valuable guide for designing and building a rain garden.
The Stone Center, in Bridgewater, N.J., has a good selection of river stones and boulders; (732) 469-4433 or thestonecenter.com/bridgewater.
A first-person how-to, “Rain Gardens: Using Spectacular Wetland Plantings to Reduce Runoff,” by Janet Marinelli, who built one with her husband, Don, on Shelter Island, is available on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Web site (bbg.org/gardening/article/rain_gardens). The article includes links to other excellent online guides.