I’m in South Texas, zone 8. The central a/c drains to a place about 2’ X 2’ at the corner of my house where there’s always a bit of standing water in the summertime. It’s in deep shade.
I’ve thought about just pouring out a few sacks of pea gravel. The soil is very dark and heavy and the gravel would probably stay put. At my last house, the soil was pure sand and the gravel would have vanished in short order.
I’m not a gardener or even remotely into yard work, but it seems like there ought to be something I could EASILY put in that spot that would love the water. Rice, maybe? (J/K) Bamboo would work, but it would soon take over everything. Are there seeds I could toss down in that mini-swamp? Or maybe some tufts of grass? Ferns? I’m a renter, so I’m not going to do anything major, and did I mention I’m not into yard work?
How about mint? I’m not sure they want standing water per se, but they do like moist. Most mint grows quickly and spreads, so put it in a pot. A pot would control moisture level too - just place the pot (with holes in the bottom) in the standing water and the mint will have constant access to water without having to sit in it. Partial shade is probably better for mint than really deep shade, but my money says you’d be fine.
Mint has the benefit of culinary uses and fragrance.
Well, you may have enough water for melons, but they will need very fertile soil and a patch of dry land - what is next to the puddle? Can it be planted, do you compost?
Horsetail reed (Equisetum hyemale) would do well. Keeping it in pots (like the mint idea) would probably be best, since it has an invasive reputation. It’s gotten quite popular/trendy as an accent plant.
Wow, those are pretty. Reminds me of Jack-in-the-pulpit. And guess what I just learned about them, yesterday? If you find them in the wild (Appalachian mountains) and dig down under them just a little way you’ll find small potatoes. Sounds unbelievable to me but they swear to it.
If the water is there almost all the time there are some good iris on aquatic plant site such as LiveAquaria.com. If it is mostly just damp more common iris may thrive.