Many garden plants sold for typical well-drained flowerbeds are actually very tolerant of wet soils. In fact, if given a choice, they’d opt for a spot where their roots could dip into water or, at the very least, grow in constantly moist soil. That means you can grow these plants not only in that depression where the soil is always soggy, but also on the edge of a water garden, lake or stream or even in the water garden itself, with their crown just at or slightly above water level. Their ability to withstanding flooding for days on end also makes them ideal choices for rain gardens (gardens designed to catch and hold storm water runoff).
Here are a few examples:
- Acer rubra (red maple) zone 3
- Acorus calamus (sweet flag) zone 4
- Acorus gramineus (grassy-leaved sweet flag) zone 4
- Andromeda polifolia (bog-rosemary) zone 3
- Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem) zone 4
- Aronia arbutifolia (swamp milkweed) zone 4b
- Aruncus dioicus (goat’s beard) zone 3
- Arundo donax (giant reed) zone 6
- Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) zone 3
- Aster novae-angliae (aster) zone 4
- Astilbe spp. (astilbe) zone 4
- Begonia x semperflorens-cultorum (wax begonia) annual
- Betula nigra (river birch) zone 3
- Caltha palustris (marsh marigold) zone 3
- Canna spp. (canna) tender bulb
- Carex grayii (Gray’s sedge) zone 2
- Carex muskingumensis (palm sedge) zone 2
- Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonwood) zone 4
- Chamaedaphne calyculata (leatherleaf) zone 1
- Cimicifuga racemosa, syn. Actaea racemosa (black bugbane) zone 3
- Cleome hasslerana (cleome) annual
- Clethra alnifolia (summersweet) zone 4b
- Colocasia esculenta (taro) tender bulb
- Cornus alba (Siberian dogwood) zone 2
- Cornus sanguinea (common dogwood) zone 2
- Cornus sericea (red osier dogwood) zone 2
- Darmera peltata (umbrella plant) zone 4
- Digitalis purpurea (foxglove) zone 4
- Dirca palustris (leatherwood) zone 4
- Eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe Pye weed) zone 3
- Euphorbia palustris (swamp euphorbia) annual
- Filipendula spp. (meadowsweet, queen-of-the-meadow, queen-of-the-prairie) zone 3
- Glyceria maxima (reed mannagrass) zone 3
- Hibiscus moscheutos (perennial hibiscus, rose mallow) zone 5
- Hosta spp. (hosta) zone 3
- Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’ (chameleon plant) zone 4
- Ilex glabra (inkberry) zone 3b
- Ilex verticillata (winterberry) zone 3b
- Impatiens capensis (jewelweed) annual
- Impatiens walleriana (impatiens) annual
- Iris ensata, syn. I. kaempferi (Japanese iris) zones 4 to 6, depending on cultivar
- Iris sibirica (Siberian iris) zone 3
- Iris versicolor (blue flag) zone 3
- Juncus effusus (common rush) zone 4
- Ledum groenlandicum (Labrador tea) zone 1
- Ligularia spp. (ligularia, leopard plant) zones 3-4, depending on variety
- Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower) zone 2
- Luzula nivea (snowy woodrush) zone 4
- Luzula sylvatica (woodrush) zone 3
- Lysimachia nummularia (creeping Jenny, moneywort) zone 3
- Lysimachia spp. (loosestrife) zone 3
- Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) zone 3
- Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern) zone 3
- Mertensia virginica (Virginia blueblue) zone 2
- Mimulus spp. (monkey-flower) annual or zone 4
- Miscanthus purpurascens (purple maidengrass) zone 4
- Monarda spp. (beebalm) zone 3
- Myosotis scorpioides (marsh forget-me-not) zone 4
- Myrica gale (sweet gale) zone 2
- Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry) zone 4b
- Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo) zone 6
- Oenanthe javanica ‘Flamingo’ (Flamingo dropwort) zone 5
- Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern) zone 3
- Osmunda spp. (flowering fern) zone 3
- Panicum virgatum (Prairie switchgrass) zone 4
- Papyrus spp. (papyrus) tender perennial
- Petasites spp. (butterbur) zones 2 to 9, depending on species
- Phalaris arundinacea (gardener’s garters) zone 3
- Phragmites australis (common reed) zone 3
- Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed ) zone 3
- Populus spp. (poplar, aspen) zones 2 to 7, depending on species
- Potentilla fruticosa (shrubby cinquefoil) zone 2
- Primula spp. (primrose) zones 2 to 9
- Quercus palustris (pin oak) zone 4
- Rhododendron viscosum (swamp azalea) zone 4
- Salix spp. (willon) zones 1 to 10, depending on species
- Sambucus spp. (elderberry) zones 2 to 6, depending on species
- Sarracenia spp. (pitcher plant) zones 2 to 7, depending on species
- Spartina pectinata (prairie cordgrass) zone 5
- Taxodium distichum (bald cypress) zone 6
- Thuja occidentalis (arborvitae) zone 3
- Torenia spp. (wishbone flower) annual
- Trollius spp. (globeflower) zone 3
- Viburnum opulus (European cranberrybush) zone 3
- Viburnum trilobum (American cranberrybush) zone 2
- Viola x wittrockiana (pansy) annual
- Zantedeschia spp. (calla) tender bulb
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