I belive you should be incharge of your garden ,not your garden incharge of you 'how about diging a deep soak away in the lowest part and leting the water drain into the water table,then you deside what to grow not the garden.

Before we all start? Can I ask is there a reason for the wet, is the garden flat, sunny/shady and soil type and is there room for a tree?

There are plenty of plants that will like wet soil but as Dcr says we could do with more info.

There is a bog garden section on Goypaedia. It should help.

Wagger's right - select B from the alphabet section at the bottom and bog plants is on the list that comes up

Thanks for your comments - I do not think we can improve the drainage through digging - the water is running off the playing fields behind us, in fact a little spring has appeared beside the shed.! It drains away after a few hours but the whole area is very wet.
My blog of 20 october describes the garden and yes we do have a large apple tree which must take some water away. The soil is clay with added compost and grit

The area near our pond is probably badly drained cos there was once a swimming pool in the garden and we suspect it may not have been broken up very well. (see photos of pond)

So I think we have to say if we cant beat em , join em.....!!

I will take your advice everyone, and look for bog plants! I planted some ferns which are said to like moist soil. - (Shuttlecok fern - Matteucia struthopteris)they just took off and I have had to remove some to get them under control.

I have added two Astilbe recently and the primulas are doing well. Do you think bulbs will rot in boggy areas?

I think the only 'bulbs' I would plant in conditions like that would be iris pseudacorus and iris laevigata which are rhizomes not bulbs.