If you’re looking for a creative and simple way to use your backyard space, consider landscaping with rain gardens.
Native plants are generally less prone than exotic ones in this situation because they don’t have as many diseases or pests that can damage them; but even when using non-natives there will always be plenty of options available!
A rain garden is a great way to filter water and give it more time so it can seep into the ground.
1.Bluestar (Amsonia)
Bluestar flowers are lovely plants that grow well in zones 3 to 9. They produce soft blue star shapes throughout the late spring and early summer, growing up 2 feet tall with stems about as wide at only 1 foot thick.
These sun-loving beauties make a great addition to any rain garden!
2. Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
The swamp milkweed is a small, but beautiful plant that thrives in zones 3 to 6. This flower produces pink or mauve flowers and has five reflexed petals surrounding a raised center.
This wonderful plant has lance-shaped leaves that may grow up to 6 inches long!
3. Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium)
Joe Pye weed is a beautiful and interesting plant that grows in the shade. It has dark green leaves with lance-shaped tips, small purple flowers on short stalks at intervals throughout summer/fall months; when they fade away, it produces colorful seed heads which stay through winter!
This perennial also likes full sun, but will tolerate some partial shady spots as well.
4. Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
For those who want to add a little color and beauty, there are 35 types of coneflowers. These daisy-like flowers grow up 2 feet tall in zones 5 – 8 with petals surrounding the center that often reach 5 inches!
The most popular colors for your garden this time around? Purple is always nice but you can find many other choices such as white or yellow to choose from too!
5. Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia ‘Hummingbird’)
The summersweet is a beautiful flower that grows in zones 5-9 and can grow up to 4 feet tall. The racemes of flowers contain hundreds of little bells, which are about 6 inches long when fully open.
In the fall it turns glorious shades of orange yellow with dark green leaves!
6. Lady Ferns
The lady fern is often found in shady areas and grows to be about 3 feet tall. It has 25 oblong sub- leaflets that are attached at the base of each stalk, which can grow up to 2 – 5 inches wide depending on how much moisture it receives.
7. Astilbe
Astilbes are a type of flowers that grow in zones 4 to 8, and it produces plume-like panicles with tiny flowers on bright green stems. Most varieties have some shade of lilac colored leaves; the different hybrids often possess more different leaf shapes or colors.
8. Daylilies
The rain gardens are full of surprises. Imagine discovering that daylily flower lasts just one day, and there can be up to 35,000 registered cultivators out there for you to choose from!
The plant is highly adaptable so it will grow in practically any soil condition or climate—making this perfect candidate if your garden needs variety on an extra budget.
9. Coral bells (Heuchera sanguinea)
Coral bells are a long-blooming perennial that gardeners in zones 3 to 8 will want to consider. This erect plant usually grows up 18 inches tall and has bell shaped, pink or purple flowers.
With the help of deadheading, these gorgeous blooms can last through winter so you’re not ever without color!
10. Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
Foamflower is a clump-forming plant that grows in the shade. This flower puts on tiny white flowers with long stamens, which have an appearance similar to foam when wet, and emit strong odors from their pollen sacs during late spring or early summer months.
The leaves start out green but then turn red, before returning back into their original color again for most of fall.
11. Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
You will want to plant cardinal flowers if you live in zones 4 through 9. These red, white and pink blooming plants have two-lipped flower tubers that grow up to four feet tall with lance shaped leaves sized at just over three inches long!
They can flourish under most lighting conditions making them perfect for your garden space.
12. Rhododendron canadense
The showy flowers on Rhododendron canadense, often called deciduous azalea, grown in zones 4 to 8, are a favorite among gardeners who establish rain gardens.
The feathery petals are purplish pink with yellow spots and appear mid-spring through late spring before fading out gradually over the course of several months.
These plants shed their leaves during winter unless weather remains exceptionally mild for an extended period!