© Janet Davis
Whether you have a low spot on your property where drainage is poor, a real marsh that’s fed by an underground spring, or a little pond-side bog you’ve conjured up with a waterproof liner, peat moss and elbow grease, there are scores of moisture-loving flowering perennials, ferns and sedges that are perfectly suited to your garden’s damp spots.
Here are 30 of the best:
Astilbe (Astilbe x arendsii) Feathery summer flowers in shades of white, pink, red. Lovely in light shade with hostas.
Bergenia (Begenia
cordifolia) Pink flowers in early
spring and bold foliage that turns red in fall.
Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) Native plant with elegant purple flowers and sword-like leaves.
Candelabra Primrose (Primula japonica) Gorgeous flower scapes of red, pink and white. Lovely with ferns in light shade.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Intense red flower spikes in late summer. Beloved by hummingbirds.
Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) Interesting fuzzy croziers. A handsome fern with orange fall color.
Globeflower (Trollilus x cultorum) Flowers like double yellow buttercups.
Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) Like a tall, creamy-white
astilbe set against dark green foliage
Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) Interesting angled summer flowerheads. Good “colonizer”, i.e. invasive.
Gray’s Sedge, Morning Star Sedge (Carex
grayi) Native sedge with spiked flowers and a fountain of 
green leaf blades.
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) Bumblebees love the spikes of purple flowers on this native for late summer.
Hosta (Hosta spp.) Not always thought of as plants for a bog, hostas thrive in moist soil.
Japanese Iris (Iris ensata) Lush, big, flat flowers in shades of white, lavender and purple with beautiful markings.
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) Butterflies love this big native plant; often found in nutrient rich soil in ditches.
Ligularia (Ligularia spp.) Tall spikes of yellow flowers or shaggy daisies grace diverse members of the ligularia clan.
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) Native spring ephemeral with yellow flowers disappears in summer heat.
Monkey Flower (Mimulus guttatus) Yellow, tubular flowers on stems that can be 3–18 inches. May act like an annual.
Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana) Native bears lilac-purple flower spikes in late summer-early fall.
Ornamental Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) Grown more for its big, bold leaves than its flowers.
Queen-of-the-Prairie (Filipendula rubra) Pink candyfloss flowers in mid-summer on this native. Spreads when happy.
Rodgersia (Rodgersia spp.) Big, palmate leaves and tall, branched flower spikes in rose-pink or creamy-white.
Royal Fern
(Osmunda regalis) Tall with
elegant fronds, simply the best fern for moist shade.
Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica) Does fine in regular border, but best in moist soil. Elegant purple, blue or white iris flowers.
Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) Native with masses of late-summer daisy flowers in yellow, orange or red.
Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) Rich purple flowers and rush-like leaves.
Swamp Forget-me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides) Not the spring biennial, this is a true perennial with blue summer flowers.
Swamp Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) Spectacular, big flowers (some as large as dinner plates) in pink, red, white.
Swamp Milkweed (Ascelpias incarnata) Beautiful rose-pink flowers; leaves are larval food of Monarch butterfly.
Turtlehead (Chelone) Native with white (C.glabra) or pink flowers (C. lyonii) that really do resemble turtles.
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudacorus) Statuesque European iris with golden-yellow flowers.