That's it. Thanks! It is the only plant that survived in an extra low spot in the garden that held water much longer than it should have. Looks like a keeper to me even when we alter the design to eliminate weeks of standing water.

Hi Paulsia. That is indeed the challenge for these types of plantings.....the need for the selected species to be able to withstand a lot of "bounce" in water levels, from inundation to hot and dry. There are really a lot of plants that have been recommended for this usage. Just a couple more for you to consider/try: Sweet flag-Acorus calamus, Iris virginica, Marsh marigold-Caltha palustris, Carex (sedge) species of many types, Polygonum amphibium-water smartweed............oh, was that more than a couple? +oM

Blueberries work great. I used them for every rain garden that I built. The great thing about the rg is that there are different areas to it that can accomodate almost anything you want to grow. If you think of the garden as a saucer than there is the lower area that will be very wet, and area a little higher up around the edge that will not be/stay as moist and the outer edge that will be fairly dry. So obviously the plants that can handle a lot of water go on the inside and those that need drier soils can be planted around the edges. I never did a totally edible rain garden but I'm interested in how it comes out.

Hi Lizzy, You don't say how much sun the area is getting, so I can't be real specific, but here are some of the things that can take A Flood, but will be ok with "normal" watering too--but they're not xeric. These are for "mostly" sun. They're all different heights, some spread a lot and could be considered invasive (IMO), some are better behaved. LIke Digit said, Iris sibirica, Siberian iris loves water but can take "average" conditions too. All these Iris, too, can take lots of water but would be ok with average/regular watering. â¨Iris missouriensis (water plant) ⨠Iris louisiana (water plant) â¨Iris pseudoacorus (water plant) â¨Iris versicolor (water plant) ⨠Iris ensata (a/k/a I. kaempferi) - Japanese Iris - Some varieties can have flowers up to 12" across! Physostegia, obedient plant Monarda, bee balm - invasive and VERY susceptible to mildew! Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed - butterfly weed - spreads! Hibiscus moscheutos - 'Disco Belle' is about 4' - others taller! Mint - You don't really want to do that, do you?!! Liatris spicata, gayfeather - blazing star - bottlebrush flower Valeriana officinalis, valerian - but IMO the flowers on this one STINK! Galium odoratum - invasive - foliage smells like "fresh mown hay!" - sun or shade Ajuga - sun or shade Shade. Myosotis palustris, water Forget-me-not - some sun ok if wet Trollius, globeflower - sun probably ok with enough water Bergenia cordifolia - probably ok in sun with enough water Thalictrum, several different species - some sun ok if enough water And I've never grown them in truly wet conditions, but daylilies, Hemerocallis, are also supposed to do well in wet areas, but they do just fine too in dry to average conditions. That one does and always will seem counterintuitive to me, but mine do seem to do/look better when I water them more often! Sun. There are some ornamental grasses that can take a lot of water too--they'd be sun. A favorite of mine--I have one--is Panicum virgatum, switch grass - can even be grown in boggy conditions! I have P.v. 'Heavy Metal', and I love it. Steely blue foliage with "wispy" seed heads. Just some things for you to consider. If you have specific questions about any of them, let me know. If you give me more info about your light conditions and about if/how you plan to or are willing to water when we don't have rain maybe I can suggest a few more things. Happy spring, Skybird