From David Beaulieu,
Your Guide to Landscaping.
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The shrubs discussed on Page 2 can be attractive, but I've saved the best bloomers for last -- specimens desirable as water garden plants.

Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) is a close relative of a perennial sold at nurseries: bee balm (Monarda didyma). It is a fine choice for water garden plants in hardiness zones 4-7. This member of the Mint family bears lavender (most commonly) blooms in July and August. The flowers are tubular and grow in rounded clusters. Wild bergamot likes soil that is slightly acidic. Height up to 4'. Grow in full sun to partial shade. Wild bergamot is widespread in the U.S., being indigenous to every state except Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, Washington, California and Nevada.

Marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris), also called cowslips, are common streamside and swamp plants. They perform best in full sun to partial shade and prefer a soil with a neutral pH. Marsh marigolds grow 1'-2' high and bear yellow blooms in (depending on your region) April-June. These potential water garden plants have shiny, succulent leaves. But don't let the beauty of those leaves fool you: marsh marigolds can cause skin irritation, and it most certainly should not be eaten! Marsh marigolds are indigenous to 33 states in the eastern and midwestern U.S. and West Coast, including Alaska.

Finally, use cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis) as water garden plants if you crave a showy scarlet-red bloom that will turn heads! Its tubular flowers grow on spikes. Bloom time ranges from July to September. Cardinal flowers have been known to reach 4' if grown in the sun; in partial shade they stay shorter but are still attractive specimens as water garden plants. Cardinal flowers are native to all of the lower 48 states in the U.S., except for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas.

The USDA Plants Database has been helpful in compiling this list of native specimens suitable for wet areas and for use as water garden plants, as has reader, Al Dubovick.