Spring Showers, Meet Your Match: 5 Native Plants for Wet Yards

April Showers are upon us, and while they do bring May flowers, they can also bring wet yards! However, there are some plants that can help keep your landscape dry during those April showers. Check out our list of the top 5 native plants that will keep your yard dry this April!

Spring is a common time for Arborvine’s professional consultants to get called out to properties for drainage concerns. If you are seeing water pooling in your yard, getting into your home or causing erosion, you may need a professional site visit from our team to engineer a plan & solution. However, if you are simply looking for a way to help dry your yard up quicker, this list is for you! Arborvine installs a lot of engineered rain gardens, which are retention areas for water that are planted with carefully curated species & cultivars that don’t mind wet feet. These native plants are tried & tested to tolerate these conditions & may be a great addition to your home’s landscape!

1. Button Bush

A beautiful Delaware native shrub that has fragrant, white flowers during the summer months. This shrub is sure to attract your favorite pollinators! Buttonbush thrives in damp areas & can even handle mild pooling of water! A great choice as a foundation shrub or specimen feature!

2. Cardinal Flower

A naive perennial that tolerates full sun to partial shade. Use this perennial in a damp area and watch the vibrant flowers that produce stunning red spikes. The best part, these flowers are guaranteed to attract hummingbirds! A must have in a Delaware native landscape!

3. Winterberry

One of Arborvine’s favorite native shrubs to incorporate into our designs! A member of the holly family, this plant has smooth green leaves that shimmer in the summer sun. With cultivars maturing at multiple different sizes, this versatile plant can find a home in almost any landscape! The best part, in the winter, this plant stays true to its name offering one of a kind winter interest! Stunning red berries will remain vibrant all winter long. The perfect pop of color in a serene, snow covered winter landscape! Plus you may find one of your favorite birds snacking on the berries!

4. Joe Pye Weed

A unique perennial that can be used for meadows & perennial gardens. In late summer you can expect large, dusky pink flower heads which are butterfly magnets! Place this plant in a damp area and the roots will thrive! You may find this perennial lining one of Arborvines exquisite rock swales or dry creek beds throughout Delaware & Pennsylvania.

5. Swamp Rose Mallow

A true stunner to add color, texture & movement to your landscape! A mid to late summer bloomer with large, showy pink & white flowers. If you love color, this is a great naive perennial for you. Rose Mallow is not phased by damp soil conditions & will use this excess moisture to grow & thrive!

As April showers continue, the right plant choices can make a meaningful difference in how your landscape handles excess water. Incorporating native, moisture-tolerant plants is a simple and effective way to support better drainage while enhancing the beauty and ecological value of your yard. If you’re dealing with persistent pooling, erosion, or water making its way toward your home, Arborvine’s team is here to help. From thoughtfully designed rain gardens to fully engineered drainage solutions, we work with you every step of the way to create a landscape that performs as well as it looks.

Reach out today to schedule a consultation and get your property ready for the seasons ahead.

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Testimonials

Arborvine just completed a hardscaping project at my home that involved the installation of a new brick walkway and lighted pillars. The owner, Greg, was very responsive and easy to work with. His crew was excellent — hardworking, detailed and collaborative. Everyone at Arborvine wanted to make sure we were happy. We are thrilled with the result and have received so many compliments from our neighbors.

Kate Sullivan

Greenville, DE
Crew H-1, L-2 and all the Arborvine team members have worked incredibly hard, starting before 8am and usually working past 5:30pm. The new landscaping looks great and the front walk and patio restoration are impressive.

Steve Biener

Wilmington, DE
Best landscaper I’ve ever used. Excellent and creative design work; began the project on time; finished on schedule. Was responsive throughout and accommodated last-minute change requests. Very professional, with high standards of excellence.

Dan King

Garnet Valley, PA
From my initial meeting with Greg, it was always a very efficient process which took much of the stress of home projects off my shoulders. Greg and his entire crew were always punctual, professional, and truly a pleasure to work with. I would recommend to anyone in need of home improvements in many different areas including but not limited to hardscaping, landscaping, drainage issues, and so much more. They do a great job and take immense pride in customer satisfaction!

Sarah Ryan

Wilmington, DE
Greg and his crew did an amazing job in our backyard today. They pulled out some dead bushes, relocated other bushes, and cleaned up all my flower beds. Added sod and shrunk some beds to lessen my weeding. I will be having him back for more work and highly recommend Arborvine Landscaping to everyone.

Diane Phillips

Hockessin, DE
I was very happy with my experience with Arbovine from the initial consultation through the completion of the job. They were very professional and did an excellent job! The work at our house included several things including new sod, new shrubs, and a lot of work with rock in the front and back of the yard with landscape edging. It all turned out great and I would certainly use them again for the next time we need work done!

Patrick Hanley

Wilmington, DE
We called Arborvine to help us with a drainage issue in our yard. The entire experience from beginning to end was reat. We received, in my opinion, a fair estimate. From there, the project went smoothly. Greg and Peter were great and his team was outstanding. They arrived on time, focused on the project, worked all day, and paid attention to detail. The crew was friendly, courteous, and professional. Our yard looks great, even better than before, and the water problem seems to have been resolved. The cleanup was outstanding. They will be our first choice when we need landscaping in the future.

M. Jean Chamish

Wilmington, DE
We contracted with Greg and his team to replace about 200′ of backyard drainage piping. His pricing was competitive and they didn’t try to upsell us, or redesign the project parameters, as some of his competitors did. He installed exactly what we requested and the resultant project was a success. We no longer have a lake in our backyard and water is being diverted away from our foundation. I found Arborvine Landscaping to be very professional in the way they operated and will definitely have no issues working with them in the future. Thanks Greg.

Rick Fraatz

Wilmington, DE
Greg is a great communicator and makes sure everything you ask for is done. His team were perfectionists, and super efficient. Our yard looks beautiful. Definitely using them again in the future.

Phillip Marinelli

Newark, DE
So very glad that we had the opportunity to work with Greg and his team to upgrade the gardens at our new house in North Wilmington as well as get a VERY thorough Fall clean up. Fabulous design, and redesign too, when our plans needed to change.

His team, headed by Alex who answered all of our questions about maintenance as well as the day to day work, were very responsive as well as conscientious. They were on top of things after they left as well – answering our email questions about watering in a very timely fashion to make sure that our investment was taken care of.

Would highly recommend them to anyone for installing new gardens as well as maintaining and cleaning up what you have.

Cheryl Kuchler

Wilmington, DE