These questions prompted us to adopt the practice of “planting the rain” before planting any plants. This way there is no need for, or dependence on irrigation water extracted from, and depleting, aquifers and rivers, nor the leak-prone plastic irrigation pipe through which the extracted waters are pumped, and the associated water bills. We simply plant within or beside sunken water-harvesting earthworks, basins, or rain gardens that retain, rather than drain, the rain. This way, once established, the solely rain-irrigated native plants don’t just survive, they thrive.