Rain gardens not only protect the quality of water but also welcome wildlife. A rain garden is a naturally shallow or dug out depression in the ground designed to catch rain that would otherwise turn into runoff; and with the addition of native plants, a rain gardens can be an attractive landscaping feature. Rain Garden Plants Blue flag iris Bushy aster Cardinal flower Cinnamon fern Sedge Dwarf cornel False aster Fox sedge Glade-fern Grass-leaved goldenrod Heath aster Interrupted fern Ironweed Jack-in-the-pulpit Lady fern New England aster New York fern Nodding pink onion Maidenhair Fern Ohio goldenrod Prairie blazingstar (Liatris) Milkweed Rough goldenrod Royal fern Smooth penstemon Stiff goldenrod Black-eyed susan Joe-pye weed Switchgrass Tufted hairgrass Virginia mountain mint White false indigo White turtlehead Wild columbine Wild quinine Wintergreen Yellow coneflower.