Because of their constant wet and dry conditions, rain gardens can present challenging growing conditions for plants. Each rain garden design is unique and therefore blanket recommendations on plant selection cannot be made. The following plants, however, are a good place to begin. Start the process by taking note of drainage patterns in the yard and how long water stands in the area after a rain. With some observation and experimentation on your own you can create your own unique rain garden.
Trees Red Maple (Acer rubrum) River Birch (Betula nigra) Bald Cypress (Taxodium sp.)
Shrubs
Sweetspire (Itea spp.)
Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Inkberry (Ilex glabra)
Wax Myrtle (Myrica spp.)
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana)
Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
Craven Hudson & Mitch Woodward
Use the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox to select plants that will thrive in a rain garden in your location. Use the options in the left column to refine the list. For example, Raingarden plants for the Piedmont that attract pollinators, are resistant to deer, and have blue flowers in the Spring.
