Whether you’re gardening indoors or outdoors, it’s important to find a spot for your plants with the right combination of sun, shade, and moisture where they can flourish—or at least not immediately die. And so if parts of your yard have issues with soil drainage, you may think that you won’t be able to grow any type of plants there, let alone ones that flower.
But according to agricultural experts at the University of New Hampshire and University of Illinois Extensions, that’s not true. There are several varieties of flowering plants that can survive—and even thrive—in soil that’s consistently damp. Here are a few to consider.
Black Snakeroot – Cimicifuga racemosa
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- Height: 2-5 feet
- Width: 3-4 feet
- Bloom colors: White, pink
- Bloom time: August to September
- Cultivated varieties: Pink Spike, White Pearl, Brunette
Cardinal Flower — Lobelia cardinalis
- Height: 2-3 feet
- Width: 18-24 inches
- Bloom color: Red, blue
- Bloom time: July to September
- Cultivated varieties: Angel Song, Ruby Slippers, Arabella’s Vision
Hardy Hibiscus — Hibiscus sp.
- Height: 2-4 feet
- Width: 2-5 feet
- Bloom color: red, white, pink, bicolor
- Bloom time: July to September
- Cultivated varieties: Fireball, Copper King, Luna’ series, Lady Baltimore
Leopard’s Bane — Doronicum orientale
- Height: 18-24 inches
- Width: 18-24 inches
- Bloom: Yellow
- Bloom time: April to May
Meadow Rue — Thalictrum aquilegifolium
- Height: 3-5 feet
- Width: 18-24 inches
- Bloom color: Lavender
- Bloom time: July to August
- Cultivated varieties: Black Stocking, Hewitt’s Double, Evening Star
Queen of the Prairie — Filipendula rubra
- Height: 18 inches–6 feet
- Width: 3-4 feet
- Bloom colors: Pink, white
- Bloom time: June to July
- Cultivated varieties: Flore Plano, Aurea, Kahome
Rocket Ligularia — Ligularia dentate
- Height: 3-4 feet
- Width: 2-3 feet
- Bloom color: Yellow
- Bloom time: July to August
- Cultivated varieties: Othello, The Rocket, Osiris Cafe Noir
Siberian Iris — Iris siberica
- Height: 2-3 feet
- Width: 2-3 feet
- Bloom color: Lavender
- Bloom time: June
- Cultivated varieties: Caesar’s Brother, Little White
Spiderwort — Tradescantia x andersoniana
- Height: 12-18 inches
- Width: 18-24 inches
- Bloom colors: White, blue, purple
- Bloom time: June to July
- Cultivated varieties: Snowcap, Sweet Kate, Concord Grape