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Best rain garden plants in Australia and where to buy them

Best rain garden plants in Australia and where to buy them

Rain gardens capture roof and surface water and allow it to soak into the ground rather than rush into storm drains. Ideal rain garden plants moderate moisture movement, filter pollutants, and maintain structure through changing conditions.

The best rain garden plants balance water tolerance with design appeal, which is often hard to achieve. These aren’t the aquatic waterlily types, nor are they moist-loving rainforest plants. They are plants that tolerate both harsh drought and periodic inundation. That usually ends up being unattractive reedy types, or ephemeral plants that live and die in a single season.

That won’t make the cut in the rain garden you’re currently designing. What you need is perennial interest throughout all four seasons. We’ll be relying less on showy flowers (although they’ll be present particularly in spring), and relying more on bold architectural shapes, softening textures, as well as colour contrast.

This guide will provide attractive native and exotic plants that thrive in urban rain gardens with minimal input as well as links to buy them through our favourite online nursery retailers. Basically, these are some of the hardest plants to kill in Australia.

What makes a great rain garden plant

  • Tolerates extended moisture after rain
  • Recovers when soil dries
  • Supports soil quality and filtration
  • Adds visual interest year-round

Great Australian plants for rain gardens

Callistemon viminalis ‘LJ1’ PBR Trade Name Better John™

Soft blue-green dense foliage; very compact native shrub; vibrant red flowers

Callistemon viminalis ‘LJ23’ PBR Trade Name Green John™ 

Lime-green new growth; bushy, fast to establish; small and compact

Callistemon viminalis ‘LC01’ PBR Trade Name Macarthur™ 

Macarthur

Hybrid bottlebrush blending Little John and Captain Cook; bushy shrub with abundant red flowers

Callistemon viminalis ‘CV01’ PBR Trade Name Slim™

Slim

Narrow-growing tall bottlebrush; ideal for driveways and narrow beds

Dianella caerulea ‘DCNC3’ PBR Trade Name Baby Breeze™

Baby Breeze

Suitable for mid to upper slopes of periodic wet areas. Spreads with runners to fill gaps. Dwarf form of Breeze® flax lily; mat-forming and weed-suppressing with blue flowers

Westringia fruticosa ‘WES04’ PBR Trade Name Grey Box™

Grey Box

Award-winning dwarf coastal rosemary forming a perfect compact ball of silvery-grey foliage with white flowers; requires no clipping

Westringia fruticosa ‘WES05’ PBR Trade Name Mundi™

Mundi

Low-growing trailing Westringia forming a dense groundcover; ideal for slopes and banks; hardy and drought tolerant

Liriope muscari ‘LIRTP’ PBR Trade Name Amethyst™ 

Amethyst

Richly coloured foliage with brilliant purple flower spikes

Liriope muscari ‘LIRF’ PBR Trade Name Isabella® 

Isabella

Lawn-alternative lily turf; mow once a year; suited to sun or shade

Liriope muscari ‘LIRJ’ PBR Trade Name Just Right® 

Just Right

Hardy, consistent rich-green lily turf; easy care and drought tolerant

Lomandra labill. ‘LM600’ PBR Trade Name Evergreen Baby™

Evergreen Baby

Dense compact Lomandra with fine foliage; hardy and tolerant of drought and wet soil (non-humid regions preferred)

Lomandra hystrix ‘LHBYF’ PBR Trade Name Katie Belles™

Tall Lomandra longifolia with graceful weeping foliage and large fragrant flower spikes; ideal feature or mass planting

Lomandra longifolia ‘LM360’ PBR Trade Name Lady Tanika®

Dwarf form of Tanika; neat clumping green foliage; sterile and disease-resistant

Lomandra fluviatilis ‘LM380’ PBR Trade Name Shara Blue™

Shara Blue

Blue-green version of Shara; compact erosion-control habit; resilient in exposed or wet sites

Lomandra fluviatilis ‘ABU7’ PBR Trade Name Shara™

Compact Lomandra with very fine leaves; ideal for erosion control and humid or wet soils

Lomandra hystrix ‘LHWP’ PBR Trade Name Tropic Cascade™

Tropic Cascade

Mid-sized Lomandra hystrix with weeping deep-green foliage and fragrant yellow flowers; suits wet or dry soils

Cenchrus purpurascens ‘PA300’ Trade Name Nafray®

 Nafray

Non‑invasive native grass with fine texture; drought tolerant and showy plumes

Rhaphiolepis Cosmic Pink™

Cosmic Pink

Dwarf Indian Hawthorn with profuse pink flowers and hardy evergreen foliage; ideal for hedges or foundation plantings

Rhaphiolepis Cosmic White™

Cosmic White

Improved Indian Hawthorn with large pure-white flowers and disease-resistant foliage

Zoysia native hybrid ‘ZOY01’ PBR Trade Name Ozbreed Zen Grass®

Zen Grass

Remarkably resilient in periodic flooding through trials in NSW, included in this list for lawn areas that get a bit boggy from time to time. Fine, dense native turf grass; low mounding habit and very low maintenance (1-2 mows per year); ideal lawn alternative

Buyer takeaway

When planting a rain garden, mix structural plants like lomandra with softer grasses like cenchrus and mounding shrubs like callistemon to create a planting that functions and looks intentional through both seasons.

 

 

 

 

 

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