Rain garden plants

This moisture-loving iris features violet-blue flowers from May into June. Although the blossoms are short-lived, the lush foliage lasts all season.

Plant: In the moist center of the garden.

Size: 2 to 3 feet tall.

Best in: Full sun to part shade.

This taller, bushier cousin of the common black-eyed Susan is a long-lived wildflower that boasts fragrant lemon-hued flowers in late summer.

Plant: On the garden's edge.

Size: 3 to 5 feet tall.

This plant produces masses of purple and pink flowers that bloom around State Fair time and encourage visits from bees and butterflies. The sturdy erect stems won't flop.

Plant: Edge or center.

Size: 3 to 5 feet tall.

Best in: Full sun to light shade.

A must-have if you want to attract butterflies to your rain garden. It's a food source and host plant for monarch butterflies. The rose-pink flowers bloom from June to August, then create attractive seed heads.

Size: 2 to 4 feet tall.

Best in: Full sun.

Butterflies and hummingbirds flit around the dense spikes of showy lavender flowers. These late-summer bloomers look as good in the garden as they do in a vase.

Plant: On the edge.

Size: 2 to 4 feet tall.

This upright, clump-forming prairie grass morphs into a blazing orange-red in the fall. It also provides cover and feeding sites for ground-nesting birds.

Plant: On the edge.

Size: 1 to 3 feet tall.

Best in: Full sun to partial shade.

Popular with hummingbirds, this flower is named for its scarlet spires that bloom in mid- to late summer. The plant is short-lived, lasting only about four years.

Size: 1 to 3 feet tall.

Best in: Full sun to partial shade.