Love these Rain barrels! We were able to easily insert our downspouts directly into the barrel. The spout at the bottom and the attached hose makes it super convenient for watering my patio planters. You will have to purchase a hose attachment for overflow if your placing it on a deck or patio to avoid water on the surface, we purchased a sump pump hose at our local hardware store and it works great. The section at the top for planting is really shallow and has no drainage so in my area it’s is basically useless as a planter but the birds love it as a bird bath so it’s gives us free entertainment. Would definitely buy again.