Joe Pye Weed, and Japanese Iris (iris ensata) come to mind. There are a bunch of others; just do a google search for "wetlands flowers" and choose the ones that are right for your gardening zone (probably 5-6). You don't want a tree there because it will have deep roots.

Carol

Get the drainage problem fixed. Then figure out what you want to plant there. You should not have a puddle sitting next to your house. A raised bed should not be having drainage issues, so something is not right.

Lakehouse -

You definitely don't want a willow tree as they get quite big and have roots that can damage pipes, and climbing roses aren't fond of wet soil, although the wild swamp rose/Rosa palustris will do fine with wet feet and naturally grows in marshes. Most Wisteria can be a real bear to keep under control, and since it's near your house, you probably don't want that one either since it can damage structures, such as lifting shingles or bringing down gutters. A 7 x 7 space right next to a building is rather small for a tree, but there are shrubs which like or will tolerate damp feet, like Itea virginica/Virginia sweetspire which has nice foliage that turns red in the fall and has long narrow groups of little creamy flowers or Clethra alnifolia/Summersweet/Sweet Pepperbush which has flowers similar to Itea in pink or white in late summer. Clematis virginiana is a vine which is tolerant of wet soils (I have it growing wild along a stream) and has late summer white flowers that are smaller than most commercial clematis, but have good impact when blooming. You could grow that next to the shrubs so that it would grow into the shrub and provide a second season of bloom or grow it on a trellis or obelisk.

If you have acid soil, highbush blueberry has spring flowers, summer berries, and fall color, and there are a couple of rhododendrons that you may be able to find that will happily tolerate wet feet, Rhododendron vaseyi/Pinkshell Azalea) and Rhododendron viscosum/Swamp Azalea, although most Rhododendrons hate wet soils.

I am a bit confused about the wall and the wet soil. Is it a raised bed? and if it is, I am not sure why it stays soggy. Is the soil clay-like and sticky? You might want to get a soil test done (since you are in NY, Cornell U. does soil tests) to see what type of soil and what pH you have to get the best recommendations.

Is this a seasonal lake house where large perennials would be fine, or do you need something that is still around in the winter? Carol has given you a couple of perennials which like wet feet and I am giving you a link to the Missouri Botanical Garden's plant search page which will allow you to find plants that like wet soil and you can choose other options as well. You can use a combination of shrubs and groundcovers or perennials to give a long season of interest.

Here also is a cut and paste link to their page for plants that like wet sun:
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Resultspsp8.asp?pspid=14

Good luck with your plans and planting. Let us know what you decide to plant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Missouri Botanical Garden's plant finder

Thank you all so much for the help.

It is a seasonal house and that's part of the reason I'm not sure why it's so wet... I'm just not there enough to figure it out. The driveway is the same way. Ugh. It's on a lake and on a mountain and the whole area doesn't drain very well. The village is surveying the area to help the drainage, but I think the raised beds should still drain. Anyway, I hear that I'm lucky that my basement doesn't flood so I guess it could be worse~

I agree that it's odd to have a raised bed that's wet, also that you wouldn't want wet very close to the house.

If I had a wet area, though, I'd fill it with Darmera peltata. There are a few huge leaved perennials that like wet feet, and it's hard to make them happy in a "normal" garden bed.

Of course if you're not at this house in early spring, you might miss the flowers, which appear out of bare ground before the leaves or stems emerge.

Swamp or Rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) should do well. It can get fairly tall, tolerates wet soil, and blooms during summer when you will be there to enjoy it. Pink is the wild color, but there are several hybrids ranging from white through pinks and reds. Generally hardy to zone 5, but may vary with different varieties.

I recommend Japanese Primula. I have a bunch of Miller's Crimson and just got a new pink one, but forgot the name. These are terrific for a wet place (infact they NEED wet to survive). You will have double the amount after the first year, if you are looking for reseeders. They begin coming up in March, continue growing through May and right about now I see little flower heads beginning to emerge through the nice green wavy leaves (which resemble lettuce) and then rise up to form little "candles" with pompoms on top. Google japanese primula Miller's Crimson to see what I mean. These will rebloom for you in fall if you are lucky. They never get higher than 16" and you will fall in love with these cheerful, no maintenance plants.