what is a good plant for a very wet area in my yard?

I would plant elephant ear if the climate is right in your zone. Bring in the bulb in the winter if it is a zone that it will suffer in the winter. You can also bring the plant indoors for the winter and then put it back outside in the spring.

Don't know if this is a possibility for you but if you have water all the time, why not treat it as a pond?

Try some pickerel weed (also called pickerel rush) which is a nice native plant with a purple bloom (NOT purple loosestrife - that stuff is very very invasive).

Iris (the type that is also called flag or sweet flag) will do well in wet environments. It blooms in purple/blue and yellow.

Water lilies are great but your standing water would have to be pretty deep and refreshed pretty regularly.

You don't mention where you are but in a warm climate you might get away with lotus flowers which are incredible (but usually expensive).

I would also recommend buying some mosquito "dunks" to throw into the water to prevent an overload of the nasty buggers if you don't have them already!

Honestly, the best way to see what would do well in your conditions is to take a look at what is growing around the edges of whatever lake/stream/pond might be around your area. Whatever is growing there will surely grow in your "wetland."

Finally, below is a great link to a .pdf with a very comprehensive list of plants to use for wet sites.

Good luck!

Many apples, and certainly Silver maples and Butternut do as well as willow at draining, without the willow problems. (Although all three have unique difficulties.)

But, seriously, figure out why you have the drainage issue. Mine was a 2inch thick naturally occuring layer of clay. Once punctured by careful planting, it drained off.

Willow tree's are great for sucking up any access water in your yard and they are very beautiful.

Also if you like blueberries you could plant a blueberry bush, they are very colorful and will brighten up your backyard, not to maintain give you a supply of fresh blueberries.

Good Luck! -Tabby Lynn

Plant a Willow tree most businesses and schools plant them to places whare water collects because willows use a lot of water and willows will do the best job in sucking up the water

-C-Heg

Dawn Redwood tree, willow (which can be messy), Redtwig dogwood shrubs, or blueberries.

I would plant in the edge of the standing water.

The down side of willow trees is their roots. They tend to be very invasive and love to get into sewer lines and the like. If you want a tree, a cypress might be a better choice.

If it were me, I'd want to know why water is standing there all the time and try to eliminate it.

Siberian Iris might be a lovely choice for your wet area. It loves to grow at the edge of ponds and streams. Here is a photo:

http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/83253-product.html

If I were you, I would plant a Willow Tree. They will suck up the water instantly and grow pretty fast too.

How about Carla Lily? They love wet feet.