I have seen then for sale at Home Depot on at least three occasions. They were $20-25 for a half barrel.

BP

I found a plastic one that looks like a whisky barrel. It also has a flat side on the back, so it fits nicely against a wall. It has a tap on the bottom, and also an overflow on the top, and a screen to keep out flying critters that like to lay eggs in dormant water. In my humble opinion, this is better than the wooden one, which nearly always leaks in the spring.

Jroot,

Could you please tell me where you got your barrel? Is it a half-barrel and if so, do you know offhand what the approximate dimensions are? I need a barrel that not only has a flat back but it smaller than a regular-size rain barrel.

Thanks.

No, mine is a full barrel size, but does have the back flat. Sorry, I can't measure the barrel as it is in my gazebo which unfortunately has its door frozen shut. I got it at Belgium nurseries between Kitchener and Guelph a few years ago, but I have indeed seen them in other nurseries.

I also have a plastic one with a flat back on it, overflow and hose attachment. It sounds just like jroot's barrel but I don't believe mine is as big as a 55 gallon drum. I got mine at Canadian Tire but beware, they never mark them down around here and it was around 80 bucks.. yikes! I got this one because it is close to the front of the house and being brown it blends in and doesn't look so obvious. The ones I have around the wood shed, barn etc. are large barrels, grey and white that we have converted into rain barrels, they are not as attractive looking but nobody sees them where they are.

I had a full barrel but left that with the old house. You can probably get these from wineries. Are there any near you? You can also find these in Lee Valley Tools, but I suppose it would be pricier.

I bought 4 barrels at a vinegar/pickle factory nearby for $5/ea. They are definitely not attractive, so dh built a screen in front that I'm growing sweet autumn clematis and zepherine roses on:

They work great! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Linked Rain Barrel System

Wow! I have to say Krystine that is about the best looking setup I've seen in a long time for rain barrels!

I do have a question, where do you attach the garden hose if you want to water stuff? I can't see this in the pictures or maybe I overlooked it-I'll go and look again.

Your DH sure did a bang up job! Kudos to him. I've marked your site for future reference on this because I am wanting to add to my setup and this will certainly inspire us. Thank you for sharing this!

Well thanks Cindra :) I'll be sure to let my husband know! You can see the spigot on the end barrel in the picture below. My husband used an old hose to attach to the spigot, and then ran it underground to our 2 bedding boxes, which have a Lee Valley drip system setup. It works great, and being that the barrels are so high up, there's no real need for any kind of pump. But if you wanted to use it to water by hand, you could use a cordless pump like the one linked below by Lee Valley.

{{gwi:523758}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley Cordless Water Pump