Flowering perennials for wet boggy areas*

(Question)

I live in Waterloo, Ontario and have been trying to plant a garden for birds, bees and butterflies. The problem is the space is wet year round. In some places it has standing water during fall and during spring showers, and it is in part shade right next to the fence and faces south. I would love to have different plants that bloom in different seasons and are complementary to each other in colour and size. Please help .

(Answer)

There are a variety of flowering perennials that thrive in moist, even soggy soil, and that will attract birds and beneficial insects. Below you will find some moisture-loving perennials that vary in size, colour and bloom time. Hopefully this will serve as a useful starting point for your garden.

Spring / Early Summer:
Blue flag iris (Iris versicolor)
Water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides)
Hepatica (Hepatica americana, H. acutiloba)
Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)
Umbrella plant (Darmera peltata)
Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Mid-Late Summer/Fall:
Black snakeroot (Actaea racemosa)
Bee balm (Monarda didyma)
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
Ligularia (Ligularia przewalskii, L. stenocephala)
New England aster (Aster novae-angliae)
Rodgersia (Rodgersia aesculifolia, R. pinnata)
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

You may also wish to create a bog garden. Bog gardens are a way of cultivating a naturally waterlogged dip in your garden. Here is an excellent website which lists steps on how to get started in creating this type of garden :

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=356