1. Engineering Downtown Offices Closed to Public, Dec. 26 & 27, 2024.

    Offices will be closed, however, City of Madison Engineering Division staff will be available by phone: 608-266-4751 and email: engineering@cityofmadison.com.

Rain Garden Plant List

Full Sun DIY Plant Guide
Shade DIY Plant Guide
Part-Shade DIY Plant Guide

Plants for wet soils and rain garden basins
Scientific Name Common Name Full Sun Partial Sun Shade
Asclepias incarnata Swamp milkweed X X
Carex comosa Bottlebrush sedge X
Chelone glabra Turtlehead X
Elymus virginicus Virginia wild rye X X X
Iris versicolor Northern blue flag iris X X
Lobelia cardinalis Cardinal flower X X
Lobelia siphilitica Great blue lobelia X X
Matteuccia struthiopteris Ostrich fern X X X
Mimulus ringens Monkey flower X X
Physostegia virginiana Obedient plant X X
Scirpus atrovirens Dark-green bulrush X
Senna hebecarpa Wild senna X X
Spartina pectinata Prairie cordgrass X X
Verbena hastasa Blue vervain X X
Vernonia fasciculata Ironweed X X
Plants for medium/mesic soils and rain garden slopes
Scientific Name Common Name Full Sun Partial Sun Shade
Agastache scrophulariaefolia Purple giant hyssop X X
Allium cernuum Nodding onion X X
Anemone canadensis Canada anenome X X
Blephilia ciliata Downy wood mint X X
Bouteloua curtipendula Side oats grama X
Campanula americana Tall bellflower X X
Campanula rotundifolia Harebell X X
Carex bebbii Bebb's oval sedge X
Carex vulpinoidea Brown fox sedge X X
Coreopsis palmata Prairie coreopsis X
Elymus hystrix Bottlebrush grass X X
Eutrochium purpureum Sweet Joe-pye weed X X
Fragaria virginiana Wild strawberry X X X
Geranium maculatum Wild geranium X X X
Heliopsis helianthoides Early sunflower X X
Hypericum pyramidatum Great Saint John's wort X X
Hydrophyllum virginianum Virginia waterleaf X X
Liatris ligulistylus Meadow blazing star X X
Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamot X X
Oligoneuron ridelli Ridell's goldenrod X
Oligoneuron rigidum Stiff goldenrod X X
Penstemon digitalis Foxglove beardtongue X X
Polemonium reptans Jacob's ladder X X X
Pycnanthemum virginianum Mountain mint X X
Rudbeckia subtomentosa Sweet black-eyed Susan X X
Silene regia Royal catchfly X X
Solidago flexicalus Zigzag goldenrod X X
Solidago speciosa Showy goldenrod X X
Sporobolus heterolepis Prairie dropseed X X
Symphyotrichum azureus Sky blue aster X X
Symphyotrichum macrophyllus Big-leaved aster X X
Thalictrum dioicum Early meadow rue X X
Tradescantia ohiensis Spiderwort X X
Verbena stricta Hoary vervain X X
Veronicastrum virginicum Culver's root X X
Zizia aurea Golden alexander X X
Plants for dry soils and rain garden berms
Scientific Name Common Name Full Sun Partial Sun Shade
Anemone virginiana Tall thimbleweed X X X
Aquilegia canadensis Columbine X X X
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly milkweed X X
Baptisia alba Wild white indigo X X
Dalea purpurea Purple prairie clover X
Drymocallis arguta Prairie cinquefoil X
Phlox pilosa Prairie phlox X
Schizachyrium scoparium Little bluestem X X
Was this page helpful to you?

Stormwater