Beginner Gardening: Dogwood Tree in a Rain Garden?, 1 by daistuff

daistuff wrote:
I would like to start a rain garden on the west side of my house where the downspout empties, and wondered if I could put a dogwood tree in a rain garden? We already planted a Kousa Dogwood there, and I think they can handle a lot of water? If not I'll put the rain garden somewhere else, but I think this is the perfect spot for it (slight slope from downspout toward a drainage ditch on the other side; morning shade and afternoon sun).

I thought I could just take the soil from the high side of the slope and build a berm on the far side with it (so that the tree could stay the same height)? Also, I'm having trouble discerning which plants to use for a rain garden, and if they'll be readily available at a nursery? A lot of the names I see on raingarden lists don't seem very common to me (but then I'm quite a novice!)

Lastly, is this a good time of year to be planting a rain garden? Should I wait until fall? Or next spring? Thanks for any help!