Oh, but there are lots of beautiful plants which grow in cold zones.
Many plants have cold tolerant cousins.

nutsaboutflowers - heh, I'm going to be planting some glamini gladiolus this year also! So we'll both get to test drive these dwarf varieties. Last year I ended up not having a lot of problems with my gladiolus flopping over..I think I had enough plants around them to prop them up. Hot sun (and a sheltered location) seemed to make a BIG difference with some of the varieties I had planted. They were great for cut flowers.

As for the Mother's and Daughters daylilies - there should be lots of stuff there that is hardy for us. You can either look up individual plants that you like and see if they are hardy, or you could email them your list and ask if they think they'll be fine in our zone. MANY of them will be. Plus, sometimes things say "zone 4" or something like that and either a)they're lying ;) or b)we can manage most zone 4 plants, especially if they have a fairly sheltered location. Go for it!

Ruby Regis lavatera, in my experience this variety does not bloom quite as heavily as others, though the color is brillant! That reminds me that I donÂt have any of these seeds on hand and had missed ordering them ... oh, well!

IÂm very keen on many of the Rudbeckia varieties, especially love the early flowering 'TigerEyes'... gonna plant tons of these, they're a good replacement for marigolds. The 'Megellan' series of zinnias are the best I've ever grown, the cherry is a real standout ... well, so is the coral. These are rather expensive seeds, though Parks (USA) offers them in a collection of individual colors and at a much reduced price ... of course, it sure helps with having the Canadian dollar almost on par.

I haven't ordered many perennials, have gotten to the point of saturation with things such as hostas and probably have about thirty that are hard to tell apart from one another. Am hoping the nurseries will be carrying some of the new hydrangeas such as 'Incrediball', 'Invincibelle Spirit', 'Vanilla Strawberry' and 'Little Lime' ... of course, most of these are available mail order, though at local nurseries, the plants offered are generally much more developed and often lower priced ... though, it usually takes a year or two longer for the greenhouses to stock these particular varieties, but it's often worth the wait.

Will be trying the new strawberry 'Aromas', I guess it's suppose to be very good.

Let's hope it's a nice warm spring, El Nino is present and this occurrence usually brings an early spring and hot dry summers to the prairies. The last two springs have been awful, so I hope we're in for a NICE one!

Terry

nutsaboutflowers- I have Veseys Delphinium grandiflorum Blue Mirror seeds from 2009 which I would be happy to send to you as I have more than I can use. As well, if you like Lavatara's please have a look at my trade list, I have a number of other Lavatara seeds ( and lots and lots of other types of seeds!) which I would be more than happy to send to you. I don't expect trade in return, I would be happy to find people who like Lavataras and this year they were not very popular for exchange and trade.
Have a look at my list and let me know when you have a chance and I'd be happy to send them right out to you.
Don't hesitate to ask if you'd like pictures sent or if you have questions
Thanks,
Donna