20 Beautiful Plants for a Thriving, Low-Maintenance Rain Garden

What Is a Rain Garden?

A rain garden is a shallow depression in the ground planted with deep-rooted species. It's designed to capture and filter rainwater runoff and allow it to be absorbed into the ground.

New England Aster

This easy-to-grow perennial has a stout robust habit. In late summer to early fall, the plant is covered with daisy-like purple blooms with yellow centers. To reduce its height and promote bushiness, pinch it back a couple times in spring. Cut plants back to the ground after flowering to avoid unwanted re-seeding.

Name: Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Size: 3-6 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide

Zones: 4-8

Swamp Milkweed

The large clusters of pink or rose-purple flowers appear in summer at the tops of tall, erect stems. It spreads by rhizomes and may form large clumps. Like other milkweeds, swamp milkweed is a host to monarch butterfly larvae. It also attracts hummingbirds, and other butterflies.

Name: Asclepias incarnata

Size: 3-4 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Rose Mallow

With its dinner plate-sized flowers appearing from summer into fall, the rose mallow will be a prominent feature in your rain garden. The flowers may be red, pink, burgundy, or white, and they attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. Though it thrives in full sun, it will also grow in part shade.

Name: Hibiscus moscheutos

Size: 2-6 feet tall, 2-5 feet wide

Zones 4-9

Joe Pye Weed

Another bold late season bloomer for the rain garden is Joe Pye weed. Its clusters of bold pink, purple, or white flowers open atop tall stems flanked with blue-green leaves. This perennial native attracts birds and pollinators. It thrives in moist soil but will tolerate short periods of drought. A good choice for the back edge of a rain garden.

Name: Eutrochium spp.

Size: 3-8 feet tall, 1-5 feet wide depending on the selection

Zones: 3-10

Marsh Marigold

A native of swamps, marshes, and wet meadows through much of the northern parts of North America, marsh marigold is a natural candidate for rain gardens in cool regions. Its bright yellow flowers appear in spring above mounds of blue-green, heart-shaped leaves.

Name: Caltha palustris

Size: 1-2 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-7

Blazing Star

Native to prairies of the eastern and central United States, blazing star creates a striking vertical accent for your rain garden. This summer-blooming perennial features erect 6- to 12-inch-long spikes of purple, pink, or white flowers that attract pollinators. Flowers open from the top downward.

Name: Liatris spp.

Size: 1-5 feet tall, 6 to 24 inches wide

Zones: 3-9

Cardinal Flower

Native to the eastern United States, cardinal flower is a perennial with brilliant red flowers that are favorites of hummingbird. The blooms appear in late summer and fall. They make a stunning mass planting, spacing plants about 20 inches apart. Although they usually thrive in full sun, in warm regions they will benefit from some afternoon shade.

Name: Lobelia cardinalis

Size: 2-4 feet tall, 1-2 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Blue Flag Iris

The showy violet-blue flowers of this northeastern North American native iris sport yellow markings. They are held above the sword-shaped leaves on sturdy stalks. While it thrives in full sun, it will tolerate part shade.

Name: Iris versicolor

Size: 24-30 inches tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Fiber Optic Grass

With its thin, feathery, arching leaves and tiny flowers at the tips of stems, fiber optic grass adds soft texture and gentle movement to your rain garden. The flowers open silvery white, maturing to light brown. It is not a true grass, but an evergreen sedge. While it prefers full sun, it can handle part shade. It’s only hardy in very warm regions but can be grown as an annual elsewhere.

Name: Isolepis cernua

Size: 6-12 inches tall and wide

Zones: 10-11

Buttonbush

An easy and adaptable deciduous shrub, buttonbush is known for its white pincushion-shaped blooms that appear in early summer. The flowers are quite showy and fragrant, and they attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The seeds that follow the flowers feed birds. A good choice for a large rain garden.

Name: Cephalanthus occidentalis

Size: 5-12 feet tall, 5 to 8 feet wide

Zones: 5-9

Elephant Ear

Also called taro or dasheen, elephant ear is a tender perennial with a bold texture and tropical appearance. It is planted from a bulblike corm, which is edible. It forms a clump of huge, long stemmed leaves that have prominent veins. It grows best in rich moist soil in full or dappled shade, and benefits from some protection from strong winds.

Name: Colocasia esculenta

Size: 3-8 feet tall, 3-8 feet wide

Zones: 8-11

Hosta

A favorite foliage plant for shady gardens, hosta works well planted at the edges of a rain garden. They are easy to grow in a rich, organic soil; the most difficult issue will be selecting from the wide range sizes, leaf shapes, and colors. While commonly grown for their foliage, many produce attractive and sometimes fragrant summer flowers.

Name: Hosta spp. and hybrids

Size: 4 inches-3 feet tall, 5 inches to 6 feet wide (depending on variety)

Zones: 3-9

Ligularia

With its large heart-shaped leaves and tall bright gold blooms, ligularia is a bold-textured choice for a shady rain garden. The leaves of this perennial are often burgundy when they emerge and may change to dark green as the season progresses. Depending on the selection, blooms are either long spires of small flowers or loose stalks of larger daisy-like blooms.

Name: Ligularia spp.

Size: 3-4 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Bee Balm

Native to North America, bee balm grows best in moist soil and full sun, although it will adapt to part shade. With its long season of colorful blooms, it's a pollinator magnet. If allowed, it can spread widely. Both its leaves and flowers are edible and can be used to make herbal tea.

Name: Monarda spp.

Size: 1-4 feet tall and wide, depending on the selection

Zones: 4-8

Foamflower

Foamflower is a native woodland perennial that loves moist soil. Its broadly lobed leaves are typically dark green, but some selections are variegated or the leaves are finely dissected. The tiny white or pink flowers are held bottlebrush-like on stems that rise above the leaves. Trailing types make a lovely ground cover at the edge of a rain garden.

Name: Tiarella spp.

Size: 6-12 inches tall, 1-3 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Turtlehead

With flowers that appear in late summer to fall, turtlehead is a standout in the late-season rain garden. While it prefers moist to wet soil, it will withstand dry periods. The flowers, which are shaped like a snapping turtle’s head, are held on erect stems flanked with leathery green leaves.

Name: Chelone spp.

Size: 1-4 feet tall, 1-2 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Bottlebrush Buckeye

Native to the southeastern United States, the bottlebrush buckeye is a shrub with a long season of attractive features. Its compound leaves are dark blue-green and morph to gold in fall. In summer, showy panicles of white flowers with red anthers appear like candles above the foliage. It is well suited for the shady rain garden, but should not be allowed to dry out completely. It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

Name: Aesculus pariflora

Size: 8-12 feet tall, 10-15 feet wide

Zones: 4-8

Virginia Sweetspire

Another native deciduous shrub, Virginia sweetspire is easy to grow. While it does best in shade or part shade, it will also adapt to more sun as long as the soil remains moist to wet. Its arching stems support bright green or blue-green leaves that turn burgundy in fall. From late spring to summer it bears droopy sprays of fragrant white blooms.

Name: Itea virginica

Size: 2-6 feet tall, 4-6 feet wide

Zones: 5-9

Winterberry

A slow-growing, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub, winterberry is a show-stopper in winter when female plants produce an abundance of showy berries on their bare branches. A male plant is needed to pollinate flowers for fruit; a single male plant will pollinate up to 5 females. While it thrives in significant shade, winterberry will also grow in sun, if the soil remains moist.

Name: Ilex verticillata

Size: 3-18 feet tall, 2-12 feet wide

Zones: 3-9

Leucothoe

Leucothoe is a low-growing shrub that prefers shade but will adapt to more sun if the soil remains constantly moist. Depending on the selection, the evergreen leaves of leucothoe may emerge reddish bronze or burgundy before turning dark green in summer. Some selections are variegated. Fragrant white flowers appear in spring and attract pollinators.

Name: Leucothoe spp.

Size: 1-6 feet tall, 3-6 feet wide

Zones: 5-9