Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

When we receive questions like yours we are delighted, because then we know that our message is getting through.

Mr. Smarty Plants wishes the database were searchable by habitat as well; unfortunately we have only one lonely Green Guru (we call him the Green Geek) working on all aspects of our website. We'll get there one day.  In the meantime, there are over 4,000 previously answered questions in the database that can be searched by topic or keyword.

Click on Mr. Smarty Plants and then search the keyword rain garden or bioswale and you will find a number of questions with information and links.  Then visit our Plant Database and do a Combination Search for Mississippi entering "wet conditions" and the appropriate amount of light.  You will then have to select the ones that are actually adapted to dry conditions as well because, as you know, the rain garden is sometimes very dry.  

You will find a Rain Garden Fact Sheet at the  at the North Mississippi Native Plant society Website. Although they are not specific to your area you might find the Rainscapes (Maryland) and Rain Gardens (Michigan) websites and a Texas Rain Garden Plant List helpful as the principle is the same regardless of the location. If you go through all their plant suggestions in conjunction with the lists of Mississippi natives generated by our database, you will be able to create a list of rain garden plants specifically for your area.