There are many magnificent tall plants perfect for rain gardens, such as Culver's root, cup plants, ironweed and Joe Pye weed, but shorter options like bee balm, black-eyed Susan, blazing star, coneflowers and
swamp milkweed are more suited to the area where my rain garden will be located.
Based on seasonal availability, plants could include: Wild Geranium, Large Beard-tongue, Foxglove Beardtongue, Fall Phlox, Sweet William, Creeping Phlox, Turk's Cap Lily,
Swamp Milkweed (to host Monarch butterflies), New England aster, Switchgrass, Big Bluestem grass, Black-eyed Susan, Jewelweed, Woolly Ragwort, Blue Waxweed, Purple Tridens grass, spearmint, peppermint, oregano, and sage.
Some milkweed plants to include in the garden are Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa; White Milkweed, Asclepias variegate;
Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnate; Antelope Horns, Asclepias asperu la; and Purple Milkweed, Asclepias purpures-cens.
We planted beautiful native bird- and pollinator-friendly shrubs and perennials, such as bee balm, great blue lobelia,
swamp milkweed, New England aster, blue flag iris, Joe Pye weed, Turk's cap lily, summersweet, ninebark, cranberry viburnum, elderberry and winterberry holly.
Also planted on the edges of the pond are ligularia,
swamp milkweed and flag irises.
The pink
swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is crucial to Monarch butterfly populations and is nicely complimented by tall Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium fistulosum), which looks almost exactly like the same plant but twice as tall.
Asclepias incarnata L.:
Swamp milkweed; August; field; infrequent; in poorly-drained area of field; USIH 988.
swamp milkweed - densely branching perennial of the eastern United States with white to crimson or purple flowers