Sun Bioswale Design

This pollinator garden is designed for sunny locations where water flows through after a rain or snow event.  Plants near the bottom of the garden are able to tolerate flowing water and moist soils for extended periods of time, while plants near the edges are adapted to slightly drier conditions. Most of the species are native to wet Illinois prairies and they attract a wide variety of pollinators from spring through fall. Leave foliage standing through winter to provide overwintering habitat for wildlife and visual interest throughout the season. (Download a screen readable PDF.)

Sun Bioswale Pollinator Garden

1. Rose Turtlehead (Chelone obliqua) Backup: Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
2. Southern Blue Flag Iris (Iris virginica) Backup: Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya)
3. Red-osier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) Backup: Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
4. Orange Coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida) Backup: Prairie Coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata)
5. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) Backup: Spotted Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
6. Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Backup: Swamp Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)
7. Common Rush (Juncus effusus) Backup: Palm Sedge (Carex muskigemensis)
8. Shenandoah Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’) Backup: Fox Sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)

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