Perennials for Moist Areas
As with a hot, dry site, why fight the conditions offered by heavy, wet, or boggy soil? Do you really have the time or money to install drainage tiles as most garden books advise for such sites? Where too much soil moisture rots most perennials, select those whose roots seek water and they will reward you. In many cases, these will be perennials that gave you trouble in other sites-probably because you couldn’t satisfy their thirst requirements. If the site has a natural body of water, such as a stream or small standing pond, you can create a tranquil, natural-looking water garden with moisture-loving ferns and perennials.
You may decide that your damp or boggy garden site is a blessing rather than a detriment after discovering some of the fine perennials that will flourish there and nowhere else. In damp soil, you’ll be able to grow some unusual and dramatically tall perennials that aren’t seen in many gardens. Plants that thrive with wet feet include the feathery, pink-flowered Japanese meadowsweet (Filipendula purpurea), golden bigleaf goldenray (Ligularia dentate) with its purple-tinged stems and leaves, bold-blossomed Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum), and elegant cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), to name a few.
Aconitum – Monkshood
Adiantum pedatum – Northern Maidenhair
Aegopodium – Snow on the Mountain
Alchemilla millis – Lady’s Mantle
Artemesia lactiflora – Wormwood
Aruncus dioicus – Goatsbeard
Astilbe x arendsii – False Spirea
Athyrium nipponicum – Painted Ferns
Caltha palustris – Marsh marigold
Campanula glomerata – Clustered Bellflower
Chelone lyonii – Turtle head
Cimicifuga racemosa – Bugbane
Coreopsis verticillata – Thread-leaf Coreopsis
Digitalis – Foxglove
Dodecantheon meadia – Shooting Stars
Dryopteris spp. – Male ferns
Erythonium americanum – Trout lily
Eupatorium purpureum – Joe-Pye Weed
Filipendula purpurea – Meadowsweet
Gunnera – Gunnera
Hemerocallis – Daylily
Hosta spp. – Plaintain lily
Houttuynia – Chameleon plant
Iris chrysographes – Black Iris
Iris ensata – Japanese Iris
Iris psuedocorus – Water Iris
Iris versicolor – Blue Flags
Liatris squarossa – Blazing Stars
Ligularia dentate – Golden ray
Liriope spp. – Lilyturf
Lobelia cardinalis – Cardinal Flower
Lobelia siphilitica – Blue Lobelia
Lysimachia cleth. – Gooseneck Loosestrife
Lysimachia punctata – Yellow Loosestrife
Lysimachia nummularia – Moneywort
Malva – Hollyhock Mallow
Matteuccia – Ostrich Fern
Mentha spp. – Mint varieties
Mertensia – Virginia Blue Bells
Mimulus – Monkey Flower
Monarda – Bee Balm
Myosotis – Forget-me-nots
Osmunda cinnamomea – Cinnamon Fern
Osmunda regalis – Royal Fern
Petasites – Butterbur
Phalris arundinacea – Ribbon Grass
Phlox divaricata – Sweet Phlox
Physostegia virginiana – Obedient Plant
Polygonatum spp. – Solomon’s Seal
Polystichum spp. – Shield Fern
Primula japonica – Japanese Primrose
Rodgersia spp. – Fringeleaf Rodgersia
Rudbeckia spp. – Coneflower
Thaliactrum – Meadow Rue
Tradescantia – Spiderwort
Trollius - Globeflower