Beautiful Plants That Enjoy Water

Full Sun

• There are a number of beautiful water-loving plants that prefer growing in full sun. Bee balm, Joe-pye weed, snowberry, winterberry and silver maple prefer to grow in areas with wet soil. Waterlilies, parrot feather, iris and canna are ideal choices for submerging in ponds or small water gardens. Good bog or rain garden plants for full sun include swamp milkweed, cardinal flower and marsh marigold. Geranium, perennial aster, spiked lobelia and perennial sunflower are ideal for growing at the edge of a bog, rain garden or pond.

Light Shade

• Light shade occurs when an area is shaded because a large object such as a tree filters the amount of sunlight the ground below receives. Primrose, violets, rhododendron and witch hazel are beautiful plants that are ideal for growing in areas with wet soil and light shade. Rhododendron requires soil that is filled with organic matter and is slightly acidic, such as that found in wooded areas. Witch hazel blooms during the winter and thus is ideal for a four-season garden that has wet soil.

Intermittent Shade

• Intermittent shade occurs in areas that receive sun during some part of the day. This is often the easiest type of shade for beautiful plants that enjoy water because many of the plants that prefer growing in full sun will tolerate this type of shade. The drawback is that their growth rate is typically slower, and they will flower less prolifically. Forget-me-nots, astilbe, dogwood, fringetree, willow and columbine are beautiful plants that thrive in wet soil in intermittent shade.

Dense Shade

• Woodland plants native to your location are the ideal choices for growing in wet areas in dense shade. Beautiful plants that will tolerate wet soil and dense shade include ajuga, acorus, ferns, paw paws, spicebush and summersweet. Carnivorous pitcher plants are an ideal choice for bog gardens in dense shade. Not all varieties of pitcher plants prefer dense shade, however, so make sure you choose ones that do.