Power Out: Camping in Our Own House

Saskatchewan saw some tremendous storms in the past two days.  The southern province saw some tornados, but we just saw lightening and wind last night.  The lightening cut power to tens of thousands of people on Monday night, with our power finally restored today.  With the absence of power, we also had no water.  The town dispensed drinking water from the water plant.  I hauled some water from the lake across the street, some of which was given to the potted plants.

RCMP officer dispenses drinking water in La Ronge

 We have a generator, which helped to keep the fridge and freezer cold while the house heated to 30 degrees C.  Power outages of days in duration are not unheard of here, and it pays to have a generator on hand, rather than seeing all your meat thaw out and go bad.  Quite a few people in town were running their generators. 

Beach in La Ronge, a popular place in a power outage

 Most of the stores were closed, and I hear the CO-OP grocery store was broken into on early Tuesday.  The store did open to sell water later in the day, however.  The weather was quite warm and the humidity high, so the water was quite appreciated.  By the end of the day, my own layer of sweat was getting too sticky for comfort, so I brought a little bottle of shampoo with me to the beach.  I saw out a ways and made it look like a new backstroke.  Ah, relief! 

Robertson's Trading Post in La Ronge, closed Tuesday because of the power outage.

 Of course, fuel was in short supply, with gas stations not able to provide much or any.  Some wanted fuel to take their boats out on the lake, while others probably used some for their generators.  Local ambulances were warning that they had extremely limited fuel and thus limited travel abilities, so I hope that the available fuel went to better causes than recreation. 

Lineups outside the Shell station.

Northmart closed due to power outage.

La Ronge health center made arrangements for alternate water supplies.

I purchased a solar and dynamo powered radio/flashlight/cell phone charger online for the next great power outage, adding to our emergency supplies for the next time.  You can never be too prepared!

Planting Veggies and Ignoring the Snow

There was a mini snowstorm here this afternoon, but the only lingering snow is in shaded heaps leftover from winter snow removal. We don't ever hope for a snow-free April here, but I do feel a little more justified in my disgust when it snows in May, or June...or July.
Does your police service include this kind of transportation?:

I was proud that I held back on planting my vegetables until this last week, hoping that they don't get too big before moving outside. Looking at my seed hoarde, I think that most of my indoor-start seeds are now in the soil (okay, technically, they are in a soil-less seed-starting mix). The remainder will be seeded directly outside. Come to think of it, now is the time to put out the poppy seeds.
Flower seedlings:

I start most seeds in little pots under the humidity dome on the right. That tray also has a heating mat underneath it, which helps some seeds germinate. Once they sprout, I transplant them into the other trays. I am not transplanting the tomatoes or pumpkins though, so those ones get their own pots from the start. I have three shelves, each with 4 fluorescent light tubes (half cool white and half aquarium/plant tubes). The top two shelves are partially heated by the lights hung underneath them, so the orchids on the top shelf are pretty happy.

I am growing a plum heirloom tomato and Tumbling tom cherry tomato this year. That should be nice for fresh-from-the-patio eating. I also have some Small Sugar pumpkin seeds sown and under the lights. They have a season of about 100-110 days, which is longer than our frost-free season, so they must be started indoors.
Tomatoes and other seeds awaiting germination:

Junction of land with the ice road on La Ronge lake (now includes puddles) and our dog:

Buds on a willow tree - sure sign of spring:

Theft from my La Ronge Blog - Unbelievable!

While I don't have an explicit copyright warning on my blog, it is usually common courtesy to request permission for the use of photos or other content from a personal blog. Today we found one of my blog images in a commercial publication from a company based in Regina, SK. My husband nearly threw away the glossy flyer they sent to our post office box, but then burst out in laughter and had to explain to the post office staff why he was laughing.

A communications company was ignorant enough to swipe a digital creation off one of my May 2008 blog posts. Of all images to copy from my blog, it was a spoof image extensively digitally edited to make fun of our town's welcome sign. This cable television provider placed it on the center of the front of the flyer, below a picture of a kid that they might have taken from some other unfortunate blogger.

In that post, I was pointing out the lack of progress in the sign's construction after its initial erection in 2007. Fortunately, there has been some progress on the sign in the last few weeks, with some nice masonry adding a handsome base to the sign. However, I don't think any plants have been added yet. I would also like to point out that almost all of the flowers in the spoof image would not grow here.

A quick google search (which is probably how they found all the photos) reveals the source of the guy-with-fish photos.

I have created several digital garden images to test my own garden design ideas and to show family members some potential designs for their yards. It is a credit to the makers of the PC program Realtime Landscaping Pro that someone actually thought this was a real photograph rather than a digital creation!

Here is my spoof image of the La Ronge sign done in "Victoria, British Columbia" theme. The original photo was taken in May, thus the surrounding vegetation is still dormant and the grass is brown at this time of year.


My question to this communications company is, why didn't you use this (below) photo from my blog? Did you think the locals wouldn't notice? Has anybody from your Regina office actually been to La Ronge?

Garden Blogging from Northern Canada

What is it like to garden in northern Canada? What is unique about my town? Here are my answers, so you southern gardeners can feel all jealous! This is a response to the garden blogger geography challenge, as posted by prolific garden blogger Jodi, over in Nova Scotia.

1. I garden in La Ronge, Saskatchewan. We are located at 55 degrees, 6 minutes north latitude. We would get the same day length as other parts of the globe at an equivalent latitude: Northumberland (northernmost county of England), southern Denmark, Lithuania, and Moscow.

View from the air of the government building, hotel, and a few local businesses:

2. We are in hardiness zone 1b. Yes mother, there are some hardy lichens and rocks that can grow here! (mother lives in southern British Columbia) Just kidding, I actually do grow mostly perennials.

The terrain looks like water with bits of land poking out of it. Interestingly, the land bits all appear to have a north-south orientation, so you can really imagine glaciers travelling across the landscape in a north-south direction thousands of years ago.

3. Winter is darn cold here. The coldest recorded temperature in La Ronge occurred in 1973, when it got down to -48.3 C (-54.9 F) in January of 1973. During this time, the plants are protected by a great blanket of snow, which protects them from the snowmobiles. In the winter, there are more ski-planes and snowmobiles than cars driving past our house! Winters are cold and snowy, but we get a lot of sunshine all winter. So if clouds get you down, come up here!

4. Despite the extreme conditions, there is some amazing wild flora including the pink ladyslipper orchid, Cypripedium acaulis. It grows only on the rocky granite outcroppings of the Canadian shield.

5. There is no commercial agriculture here, well...other than the harvesting of wild rice. We bought a 10 pound bag wild rice from a harvester a few years back and we're still working on it (wild rice pudding, wild rice casseroles, wild rice stuffing, etc.). It is harvested by rice boats, which are aluminum boats fitted with a big fan on the back for propulsion and a large tray on the front. It seems that they collide with the plants at the edge of lakes, and the seeds drop into the trays. The wild rice is not a native plant; it was introduced in the 1920s. It requires no maintenance once established.

Inside Robertson's trading post, iconic general store and fur buyer of the north:

6. I am greatly outnumbered as an monolingual English-speaking person. Most of the local population is aboriginal and speaks Cree. Fur-trapping is still a means of making a living here. The local afternoon radio program regularly reports the going price for beaver, muskrat, and marten.

I cracked up at a story I heard from a coworker who sent a summer student out with a trapper for some unique local experiences. The trapper found a trap containing a furry critter and the student asked him what it was. "Marten", the trapper replied. Not being familiar with local wildlife, the student replied "Really? That's really neat. Do you give names to all the animals you catch?". I suppose the student expected to find a George, Robert, Dwayne, and Stan in the next traps.

Ancient aboriginal rock paintings viewed from the Churchill River, just north of La Ronge. I can only guess this had something to do with hunting big game?

7. There is virtually no natural soil here, only muskeg and lichened rock. Our yard grows things only because we had a semi-truck haul in dirt from 300 km south of here and I add bags of manure and potting soil every year. If a little bit falls out of the raised beds, I carefully scoop it up and put it back in place. The natural soil is acid, so acid-loving perennials do better here.

While the dirt is "poor" for my purposes, northern Saskatchewan's ground is full of money. Did you know that the majority of the world's uranium comes from northern Saskatchewan? The public health people keep telling us the fish aren't radioactive (they are tested), but sometimes I ponder the health effects of eating northern fish.

Huskies in last year's dog sled race. I tried watching for some teams yesterday, but at -30, I waited only 45 minutes and then had to go home to warm my toes.

8. As I have written at the top of my blog, "the bugs are large". They are also bloodthirsty. Well, the dragonflies don't want your blood, but they do thrive on some of the healthiest populations of mosquitoes known to man. Then there are the "no-see-ums", bloodthirsty bugs so small that they get through clothes and bugmesh. Don't forget blackflies too, the blood-suckers that aren't deterred by bug repellent. They particularly like biting eyelids, and the inside of noses and ear canals (from personal experience).

Check out the dragonfly who liked my purple shirt. Honey, does this dragonfly make my waist look small?

9. Other people's invasive plants are my reliable perennials. I hear that Polemonium caeruleum is a menace for gardeners in Vancouver, but it certainly hasn't taken over my neighbourhood yet.

10. Our growing season is painfully short. I don't know what the exact frost-free period is for La Ronge, but Prince Albert (just over 2 hours south of here) has a 95 day frost-free season. We must be a few days less than that. I try short-season tomatoes every year but have yet to grow a successful crop of tomatoes that got red while still on the vine (vs. in a box in my garage). I buy tomato seed packs that proclaim things like: "bred for growing in a military base in Greenland".

Well, half of our northern summer could have flown past in the time it took my to write that post! Congrats if you actually read it all! You have the patience of a northern gardener!

Columbines and a Public Park Rant

The late June flowers are now taking over from the glorious show of the tulips. Columbines are blooming in full sun, with the shaded plants yet to bloom. Columbines (Aquilegia) are generally recommended for part sun, but mine seem to do okay in full sun, perhaps because of slightly cooler conditions here.

This is an unknown downwards-facing tall pink flowered aquilegia.

I just started a bunch more columbines from seed under lights in the basement. They are a mix from the "Songbird" series, because I decided at some point last year that these definitely were the most beautiful of columbines, with their long spurs, and upwards-facing blooms. I got them from Swallowtail seeds, which has a nice listing of various aquilegias. Most aquilegias are extremely easy to grow from seed.
I have several of these purple aquilegias, several of which grew from seedlings of an old plant that was in the yard when we moved in.

The "rock garden" plants are keeping this steep bank intact and looking pretty while doing it. In the center is a white-flowered aquilegia whose blooms are yet to open. At top center is the white-flowered Dicentra spectabilis Alba (white version of the common bleeding heart). It has to be in part shade, otherwise it burns in our weather.

The white spots all over the dirt are not confetti, perlite, or fertilizer, but the fallen petals from the mountain ash tree.

This lovely pink flowered plant with bluish-grey foliage is the 2006 perennial of the year, Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Firewitch' (English for 'Feuerhexe', its original German name). It is one of the cheddar pinks (Dianthus have several different types, such as the Maiden pinks, Garden pinks, etc.) and grows in zones 3-9 in full sun.
Swallowtail butterfly on my lilac bush. I'm very allergic to the despised shrub, but I'm glad these colorful critters can appreciate it!

Hopefully the garden will be looking good for this weekend, as some locals came by last night asking to have their wedding photographs in our yard. The yard really is taking on a life of its own -- not only does it have its own website, but it's hosting wedding photos!
Unfortunately, our town has only 6 public parks, one of whose landscaping highlights consists of lawn and a water treatment facility. They are hardly a desirable place to take wedding photos. I suppose this lack of landscaping is supposed to be consistent with a "natural" appearance, but the lack of beautiful common areas is disappointing to me. At least we could have a patch of native wildflowers to add some sparkle to the beachfront parks! They could detract from the only source of color at the moment: fast food packaging and discarded potato chip bags.

Wildflowers of May

Yesterday I wandered into the bush to see what is growing out in the wild. The only bloom I could find was the tiny Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca). I identified it using my handy reference: Saskatchewan Wayside Wildflowers by Linda Kershaw. The book also points out that the blossoms of this flower have a wonderful fragrance, but that your sense of smell is quickly dulled by a chemical in the scent called ionine. After a few moments, the wonderful scent disappears, only to reappear and then disappear again. How crafty! These flowers are found from Labrador to Alaska and south through the western U.S. I first saw them on a rock bank at the edge of Lac La Ronge, while I was out canoeing. My canoe adventures usually consist of slowly paddling around the margins of the lake looking for wild orchids, harebells, and corydalis. Other canoe club members apparently value speed...those people probably scare the birds...

Speaking of orchids, this is one of the Cypripediums I spotted out in the bush behind our yard. It will bloom in June, when I'll have to hazard the thick mosquitoes that inhabit the bog to get a picture (I think they even tried to steal my camera last summer).

Plant List: Hardy Perennials for the North

Here is an inventory of the perennials that do well in my yard, or that I have seen growing around town.

My garden conditions: zone 1b, a short season, acidic soil (no one lives far from a bog), brutal winter temperatures, with lots of snow from November to March (the lake thaws in May).

A few of the plants are generally known as hardy, but I've never tried them. Local gardeners are encouraged to give feedback here! I included my own photos where available.Gardenista's List of PERENNIALS FOR THE NORTH
(Z=minimum hardiness zone rating)
Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - hardy but spreads quickly. I removed mine.


Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) – Very poisonous, Z4. I planted some in my yard in 2008. Still thriving in 2012. Very hardy and highly recommended. Blooms in late summer when other flowers are done.

Aconitum napellus

Goutweeed (Aegopodium) Z3 - although it is an attractive groundcover, it is very invasive, I avoid it.

Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) Z4, a favourite, beautiful chartreuse foliage, water beads collect on the leaves like beads of mercury, forms a nice neat dome-shaped plant. Mature plants died in severe winter of 2009, but self-seeds minimally if dead-headed and will replace losses.Windflower (Anemone sylvestris) Z4 - seeds itself and spreads everywhere, I avoid it

Columbines (Aquilegia) Z3 -very easy to grow, does very well here, seeds itself a bit, I have several different kinds, grow in part shade to full sun, though foliage will get brown and ratty after blooming if grown in full sun (best to trim it down when it does this). There are some cutworms around here that like to chew off all the leaves, but these can be squished by hand.
--Aquilegia glandulosa (from another La Ronge garden) - a small blue-flowering plant-->

Rockcress (Arabis) Z3 - short mat with small flowers at the same time the tulips are blooming
--Arabis caucasica (white). Very hardy. Blooms here in May.  Short bloom time and looks drab the rest of the year.--Arabis blepharophylla (pink flowers) --died in winter of 2007. Not hardy. 

Sea Thrift (Armeria pseudarmeria) Z4-looks like a small chives plant in flower, does okay in the rock garden. Marginally hardy in severe winters, however.  All dead by 2010.

Sage (Artemisia schmidtiana "Silvermound") Z4, flourishes, good dry-soil plant

Artemisia "Silvermound"

Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus/sylvester) Z3, prefers moist soil, looks like a large astilbe with cream-colored feathery flowers that bloom for two weeks, I started mine from seed 2 years ago, they flowered in 2007. Several plants show signs of rust and were thrown out, but the rest were okay until the severe winter of 2009 killed them.  Some seedlings appearing in 2012.

Asters (A. alpinus, A. dumosus) very floriferous and very hardy; the Alpine aster is short with large purple flowers, with a short bloom time in June. My fall aster (A. dumosus) blooms in early October. Frequent division keeps these looking good.
--Aster alpinus "Goliath" -->

Rockcress (Aubrieta deltoidea) Not particularly hardy here. Killed by most winters.Elephant Ears (Bergenia cordifolia) Z3 - excellent plant, evergreen, early flowering, highly recommended for sun or shade. Very hardy.
Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) Z3 - very attractive foliage, hardy perennial for part to full shade. Looks good alongside hostas. Small blue flowers look like those of forget-me-nots. Killed by severe winter of 2009.
--Brunnera macrophylla "Jack Frost"Bellflowers (Campanula) Z3, very hardy bell-shaped flowers in blue, white, or purple.  Highly recommended low-growing plants, flower in late June and July.
--Campanula carpatica "Blue Clips"-->--Campanula carpatica "White Clips"
--Campanula percisifolia alba (white type)

Snow in Summer (Cerastium tomentosum) Z3 - very hardy, spreads moderately so cut it down after blooming, gray foliage, carpet of white flowers. Cut it back at its margins in spring to reduce spread.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium, Morden series) While the grocery store mums are certainly not suited to the prairies (are not bred to flower in our conditions), the Morden mums are excellent.

Chrysanthemum morifolium "Morden Fiesta"

Snakeroot (Actaea/Cimicifuga racemosa) Z3 - I have a nice deep reddish foliage specimen that does very well in my garden.  A tall and attractive perennial that blooms later in the summer.

Clematis (Clematis macropetala, Clematis mandshurica)--Clematis mandshurica, white, very fragrant flowers, blooms in late summer;

Clematis mandschurica, a fragrant clematis that I grew from seed.

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) Z3 - good shade plant, mine grows so slowly despite reports that they are invasive elsewher.  Comes in white and pink. "Rosea" (pink) planted in 2008 and has spread a few feet by 2012.

Convallaria majalis "Rosea"

Threadleaf Coreopsis/Tickseed (Coreopsis verticillata "Moonbeam") Z4 - I have grown this plant over two winters in the sun. It appears late in the season, so be sure to label it or you will forget where it is!  Does not thrive here, but perhaps it does not like my yard.

Bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis) Z2 - grow wild everywhere here, no need to buy them!

Delphiniums (Delphinium species)- beautiful, reliably hardy. Self-seeds, so cut off dead flowers.  May need to stake them to protect them in summer storms.
--D. grandiflorum "Blue Elf"
--D. elatum "Summer skies" (light blue)-->
--D. elatum "King Arthur" (deep purple)
--D. elatum "Blue Bird" (deep blue)

Delphinium elatum

Pinks (Dianthus - nice little flowers, look good in the rock garden; killed off by severe winter of 2009, but seedlings will keep this plant going. Will plant again, as they survive all but the freakishly cold winters.  Highly recommended for mid to late summer blooms.

Dianthus deltoides "Arctic Fire"

Dianthus gratianopolitanus "Firewitch"

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra sp.) Z2 - does best in part shade, foliage dies down and looks ratty after blooming but can look better in deeper shade.  Various types with different foliage shapes and pink or white flowers.

Dicentra spectabilis "Alba"

Gas Plant (Dictamnus) Z2 - I haven't tried one yet. The picture is of one in a friend's garden.

Foxglove (Digitalis) - Lovely spires of flowers in pink, white, violet, yellow and apricot shades.  All spread seeds generously if the seedheads are not removed.  Only grandiflora is perennial, white the others are biennial (so you want to let them spread their seeds).  Digitalis mertonensis (the strawberry foxglove) is also very nice.

Digitalis grandiflora

Digitalis purpurea

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon pulchellum) -- from another La Ronge garden. Blooms in June.

Leopard's Bane (Doronicum orientale) - grown by another local gardener

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) Z2 - very pretty, hardy tall pink flower. Mature plants killed off in severe winter of 2009. Flowers in second year and thereafter.  Most kinds can be grown from seed.

Wild-type Echinacea

Echinacea purpurea "Ruby Star".

Globethistle (Echinops) Z3 - I've never tried this one, but it should grow here

Sea Holly (Eryngium alpinum) Planted in 2007, bloomed in 2009. Over 2 feet tall, unique steely-blue brushlike flowers. Eryngium variifolium never grew more than a few inches tall and never flowered, so I got rid of it.

Blue Fescue (Festuca glauca) Z3-small, non-spreading ornamental grass. Cut off the seed heads to prevent self-seeding.

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria/vulgaris) Z3 - wintered well. I eventually found it a bit boring and weedy-looking so I got rid of it.

Gentians (Gentiana sp.) - Very pretty little plants with the most intriguing deep blue flowers. Very sought-after.
--Gentiana verna - blooms here in May
--Gentiana acaulis - large tubular flowers, blooms in June

Cranesbills/Hardy geraniums (Geranium cinereum, G. macrorrhizum, G. pratense "Black Beauty") - G. cinereum does okay, G. macrorrhizum is robust but not as attractive
Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) Z3- a mid-sized ornamental grass, non-spreading. After three years, the centers of mine rotted, but could be restored by dividing the grass and removing the rotten parts.

Daylily (Hemerocallis) Z3- do very well here. Almost all were killed in severe winter of 2009, but this is a rare occurence and I would still plant more.

Daylily

Coralbells (Heuchera sanguinea splendens) Z3- suprisingly do well here, I have several different kinds with a variety of foliage colors including "Palace purple", "Velvet night", and "Firefly"; must have good snow cover. All killed off by the severe winter of 2009.

Plantain Lily (Hosta sp. ) Z3- several including H. sieboldiana "Elegans" they don't pop out of the ground till late May, but look nice when they do. Good for part shade. All killed off by the severe winter of 2009, but I replaced them, as they usually are quite hardy.

Hosta "Frances William"

Siberian Iris (Iris sibirica) - I have 2 varieties that do well in my yard, full sun and moderate moisture. Very winter hardy.

--Iris sibirica "Snow Queen" -->

--Iris sibirica blue variety -->English Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia "Munstead") - made it through 3 winters now. Grows from new growth from the base of the plant each spring, so pruning off the dead old growth in spring keeps it tidy looking. Looks quite terrible here in spring (vs. mild climates where they stay green), so don't plant it at the front of a highly visible area. Mature plants killed off in severe winter of 2009, but seedlings remain.

Bitterroot (Lewisia cotyledon) - once of the most beautiful small perennials in existence, in my opinion. It flowers for us in June and does well in very well-drained soil. Insert pebbles around the base of the plant to keep its leaves off the soil. Quite hardy, though freakish cold winter of 2009 killed all plants. They did self-seed though, which is handy, as I find them a bit hard to start from seed indoors. Seeds seem to need the cold and changing temperature of the outdoors to germinate.
Gayfeather (Liatris spicata) Z3 - a spiky purple wildflower that looks good in clusters, attracts butterflies. Most killed off in severe winter of 2009. They do self-seed a bit, so can leave a few offspring.

Perennial flax (Linum perenne) - delicate looking foliage with pale blue flowers on 10-12" tall plant. 

Lupines (Lupinus) Z4 -
--Lupinus polyphyllus "Gallery Yellow"; very attractive flowers. This is the only lupine that continues to do well for me.  Not a long-lived perennial here, and tends to die out randomly.Musk Mallow (Malva moschata) - pretty lavatera-like flowers, informal looking, bit gangly. Self-seeds moderately. Removed in 2008.

Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia) Z2- thrive here and multiply easily

Bergamot/Bee Balm (Mondarda didyma) Z3- a bit invasive but controllable, attracts butterflies. Center of old clump did not return in 2008, but had new growth at edges.  Short-lived perennial.
--large clump of M. didyma, started from seed;
Forget Me Not (Myosotis) - First planted in my yard in 2008, and now are reseeding around to make a gorgeous carpet of blue and pink in the spring. Biennial. Some killed in severe 2009 winter, but seedlings continued and will flower 2011.

Myosotis sylvatica "Victoria pink"

Catmint (Nepeta cataria) - nice spray of blue flowers just as the tulips are ending, self-seeds alot! Spent 2008 removing it. Still removing seedlings in 2009.

Poppies (Papaver orientale/Oriental poppy, Papaver nudicaule/Iceland poppy, Papaver miyabeanum, Papaver somniferum, Papaver rhoeas) Z3 - grow very well; P. somniferum and rhoeas aren't perennial, but reseed themselves reliably.

Beardtongue (Penstemon ovatus) Z3 - grows well, self-seeds a bit

Peonies (Paeonia) - still waiting for any flowers! Need full sun and moist soil.
--Peony "Lotus Queen" (single flowered, white), planted 2005.
--Peony "Bouchela" (pink), planted 2007. Removed 2008 because of rust.

Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) - one of the prettiest May/June flowers, short dense evergreen mat that is covered in flowers; comes in pink, pale blue, and white. Severe winter-kill in 2009, but still alive.

Phlox subulata

Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) Z2 - pretty blue or white spring flowers, informal 3 ft tall plants; self seeds moderately so will have to pull a bunch of them

Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum) Z4 - I don't have this, but I think it grows here

Primroses (Primula denticulata Z4, P. auricula Z2, P. cortusoides Z2, Primula x polyanthus Z4) - the polyanthus is supposed to be the least hardy of these, but I've had them for 2 winters in my yard; auricula has waxy thick leaves and is extremely hardy and not killed by any winter we've ever had.

Polyanthus

Primula saxatilis

Primula auricula

Lungwort (Pulmonaria saccharata "Mrs. Moon") Z4- very lovely plant with delicate blue spring flowers, part shade. Self-seeds a bit, which is a welcome source for new plants. Killed in severe winter of 2009.
Pasqueflower (Pulsatilla vulgaris)- blooms at Easter, I have white, purple, red, and pink flowered plants. Very hardy. Self-seed a bit. Highly recommended.
Rhubarb (Rheum) If you can't grow rhubarb, you can't grow anything! This plant is very hardy and stays attractive all season long. Of course, it's great for pies too. Attacked by slugs in 2009, but will survive.
Rock Soapwort (Saponaria ocymoides) Z2- Flowered for one year then failed to bloom again. I wonder if it is hardy here. Bloomed nicely in 2009, but is rather unreliable.

Stonecrop (Sedum sp.) Z3-there are so many different kinds, we have a "wall" of the stuff as groundcover.

Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum tectorum)- there are many sizes and colors. These do well in some corner where not much else will grow.

Sempervivum in bloom

Silene - various species grown by another local gardener. I started silene saxifraga from seed in 2008. It only flowers for about 2 days and then look unimpressive the rest of the summer.

Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) - fuzzy grey plant, moderate creeper, keep its edges in check, attracts bees. Self-seeds if not deadheaded. Some killed in severe winter, but came back anyhow.
Meadow Rue (Thalictrum sp) - I grow T. rochebrunianum and it does well, growing to about 7 feet tall and seeds itself around; elegant-looking plant with airy purple/pink cloud of tiny blooms at top. Looks neat growing among the tall delphiniums and at the back of the flower beds.

BULBS FOR THE NORTH [F] = Fall planting, [S] = spring planting

Ornamental Onions (Allium sp.) [F] - I am going to be experimenting with a few of the giant flowering types in 2008. "Purple sensation" came up the first year after planting, but not after that.

Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa forbesii) [F] - tiny little early spring flowers; come in blue, white and pink; plant in clusters for effect
--Blue Chionodoxa
Crocuses (Crocus sp.) [F] - only the spring-blooming crocuses are hardy here.
--tiny snow crocuses, which come in several colors-->--large flowered crocuses -->

Daffodils and Narcissus - [F] Did not come up in quite shady areas. Random plantings did not come up at all even in sunny places, but several are doing fantastic in the raised bed with some late afternoon shade. Daffodils are a better value than tulips, since they will naturalize while tulips have to be replanted.

--Narcissus Poetaz "Geranium"
--Narcissus "Full House"
--Narcissus "Pacific Coast"
--Giant yellow trumpet daffodils-->

Fritillaries - [F] Fritillaria imperialis is NOT hardy here, but F. meleagris (Snake's head or checked lily) is hardy
--Fritillary meleagris (purple type) 2008-->

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) [F] - Took 3 years to bloom! I have heard you need to plant them as a blooming plant (not a bulb) to have them thrive.

Dwarf iris (Iris reticulata "Harmony") [F] - I have plenty of these and love them! They are the first to bloom of all my flowers (in mid-April) in a very sunny sloped rock garden.
--Iris reticulata "Harmony"-->

Lilies (Oriental, Asiatic, LA Hybrids) [S] - do very well, I prefer the LA hybrids such as "Fangio" or, Oriental Pot Lily Farolito was very fragrant; summer flowering
--LA Hybrid Lily "Courier"-cream colored
--LA Hybrid Lily "Auckland"-white
--LA Hybrid Lily "Fangio"-->--LA Hybrid Lily "Yellow Tycoon", extremely long bloom time-->--Hybrid Asiatic "Cote d'Azur"-pink, multiplies rapidly

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginia) [F] - grown by another local gardener

Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) [F] such a joyful spring flower, multiplies and naturalizes well
--Muscari latifolium (flat leaf muscari) - bloom is not as nice as the others
--Muscari armeniacum (blue)--> --Muscari botryoides "Album" (white)--> these multiply very slowly compared to the blueSiberian squill (Scilla siberica) [F] Z3 -spring flowering bulb, need a bunch of them to have any impact, small blue nodding flowers. Look more amazing every year.
--Scilla siberica --> Tulips, Botanical/Species [F] -These are naturalizing (return every year, spreading and multiplying) tulips that are tiny like crocuses, but come in bright colors and will outlive any of the larger showy tulips, which only last a few years. They either are wild-type or closely related to the wild-type tulips from Turkey.
--Tulipa tarda /Daystemon tarda--> --Tulipa turkestanica --> --Tulipa humulis/pulchella "Eastern Star"-->--Tulipa batalinii (in another La Ronge garden)-->
Tulips, Other [F] - I have had success with the large spectacular "Single Late", "Darwin Hybrid", and "Triumph" types; but I would never try ones labeled "Single Early/Double Early" in our climate, because the flowers could get deformed by late frosts. Gregii, Fosteriana, and Kaufmanii are probably good choices too, and they should return year after year.
--Double Late "Blue Diamond"-->
--Triumph "Negrita" (purple) and "Zurel" (white and purple) - the first large tulips to bloom
--Darwin hybrid Yellow tulip-->

--Single Late "Menton" - initially peach colored, then turn pink -->

--Single Late "Maureen" (white)

--Single Late "Skagit Valley"-->

--Single late "Florissa" (dark pink)-->

Lily-flowered tulip "Tres Chic"-->

This is not a comprehensive list of hardy plants by any means, but possibly informative to new northerners!