I forgot to add, what plants would be ok around the foundation?    She will plant some further away from the house in the hopes to sop up the water sooner.  
thanks

Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for contacting the Master Gardener Helpline. 

When choosing plants and shrubs for this situation, you will want to determine if the problem areas are shady or full sun (or somewhere in between). You may want to plant some perennials closer to the foundation, then accent with a few shallow rooted shrubs further out. I wouldn't suggest any large trees close to the house, but perhaps if you have the space you could consider them in the wet areas a little further away. You will just want to keep in mind the spacing required for each plant when they are fully mature and make sure you plant them accordingly, especially close to the foundation.  Here is a great list of plants that like wet/moist soil and their growing requirements:

Wet Soil Plant Guide

Is the basement flooding just during the wet seasons or year round? Something to consider may be a simple rain garden. These are shallow depressions dug into the landscape designed to capture and redirect stormwater. They can be large or small and planted with a variety of compatible plants that look beautiful and also help the improve the soil by filtering out pollutants.  Here is some great info on that:

Rain Gardens

Native Plants for Rain Gardens (this link includes a great plant chart with pictures)

Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions at all. I hope this helps!