Spotted joe-pyeweed Painted Lady Butterly on Black Eyed Susan Black-eyed Susan Prairie Smoke Prairie smoke Ironweed Ironweed Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberose) Butterfly milkweed Blue vervain Blue vervain The following is a list of native wild plants for rain gardens, identified based on the light conditions they grow well in: Grasses big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) – sun, partial sun Canada wild rye (Elymus Canadensis) – sun, partial sun, shade tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa) – sun, partial sun little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) – sun Flowering herbaceous plants wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – sun, partial sun butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberose) – sun white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) – sun, partial sun, shade showy tick-trefoil (Desmodium canadense) – sun, partial sun spotted Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum) – sun, partial sun oxeye sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) – sun wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) – sun, partial sun black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – sun, partial sun New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) – sun, partial sun swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) – sun, partial sun Shrubs red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) – sun, partial sun eastern ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) – sun, partial sun nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) – sun common elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) – sun, partial sun MORE NATIVE PLANT RESOURCES Designing Your Rain Garden There are a few things you might want to think about when designing the look of your rain garden: Choose a variety of plants, including shrubs, flowers and grasses, to create variety in colour, height and texture. Consider the year-round look of your rain garden – clumping grasses will hold their shape throughout the winter, and many types of shrubs develop striking red branches in the colder months. Consider your home’s existing landscape, and the landscaping of the surrounding neighbourhood. If the rain garden is near the road, consider sight lines and set backs.