Well, you are on an adventure!!!! Welcome to the Chinook zone! For the shady areas monkshood, siberian bugloss, ladies mantle, columbine, globe flower, ligularia, hostas and bleeding heart(the cultivar Valentine is really nice as well as King of Hearts and Burning Hearts - will flower the whole summer) will all do fine. I have all of these planted against the north side of my house. Daffodils will also work in there for some spring color. Marsh marigold and cardinal flower like damp conditions so you will have to consider their site a little more carefully. Partial sun is good for Monarda(bee balm - a favourite of the hummingbirds - look for Jacob Cline or Raspberry Wine - they will go to those for sure), penstemon and foxgloves as well. Sunny areas are good for peonies, spirea, roses(Explorer, Parkland and Canadian Artist series will all work here. Vines like Dropmore Scarlet honeysuckle and a variety of clematis will also do well. Trees to consider would be rosy bloom crabapples(many varieties with very small berry like fruit so no raking up in the fall) mountain ash(attractive to Bohemian waxwings in the late fall/winter, lilacs, ninebarks, viburnums for larger shrubs. There are many others, and there are lots of knowledgeable people here who will gladly add to the list and give you lots of sound advice. Happy planting!

You may want to join the Calgary Horticultural Society?
go to :

calhort.org

I am surprised nobody else has said that if you really want to garden you need to move! Lol just kidding and obviously have nothing informative to add.

Welcome, btw. Lol

SCG

Thanks for the responses!

Unfortunately there is no oil sands work in Hawaii!

Thanks for the suggestions on the flowers - there are a few I haven't come across at all. Bleeding heart I heard can be poisonous? Not great with kids / dogs running around so might give that one a miss.

How about some ideas for annuals in the front drive way? I have rocks down at the minute but looking at putting a few flowers in each year that are striking with mulch around them. Looking for maybe a 2 or 3 plant combo that would look really stunning. It is North facing.

Thanks for your input!

I am not aware of bleeding heart being overtly poisonous, but foxgloves certainly are - actually most garden plants are to some degree. How much sun does your front driveway area get?
What colour combinations do you think would compliment your house? If it`s hot and dry - salvia coccinea - very red, small flowers will bloom till frost and very attractive to hummingbirds(yes, I am a little bit obsessed), Shasta daisies, veronica - deep blue and rudbeckia hirta Indian Summer - vibrant yellow - very eyecatching would give you a colourful and easy care border. If it`s shady, maybe coleus, New Guinea impatiens and good old petunias in whatever colour you like depending on whether you want high contrast or something more soothing - if it`s too bright you can always cool it down with something blue like lobelia.

It's South facing so will have almost full sun all day really. I'll take a look at these suggestions and see what I think works well - thanks again for the suggestions.

Do you typically buy all your flowers from Garden centre's around Calgary or do you buy online / through magazines? Seeds or established? I know in the UK my parents in law buy lots of theirs online but not sure if just seeds or more established plants.

For example, if I wanted to buy red osier dogweed for a bit of winter interest, would garden centres sell this?

Thanks

Yes, all the garden centres should have any of the plants I mentioned. Most people haunt the garden centres around here unless they`re looking for something really unusual. I don`t do a lot seeds, the season is pretty short here and you need them under lights which I don`t have the space for. Edmonton actually has more frost free days than Calgary! In the future you could give winter sowing a try - there is a Garden Web forum that will give you lots of information. I just tried it this winter but don`t yet know how well it has worked - lack of reliable snow cover can be a factor. There is a nice garden centre just east of Calgary - Eagle Lake Nurseries if you feel like taking a road trip - just east of Strathmore - a bit expensive compared to around here and of course there are many, many in the Calgary area. I am about 100 miles south of Calgary so do not have city prices. There is a site that you can look up lots of plants and get some good info along with a decent picture. I`ll put the link in for you. Scroll down to the Find Plants at a Local Garden Centre
- click on it and then click on View all Plants. From there you can choose Trees, Perennials, Vines, Evergreens etc. I hope this helps you out - whatever you do will be better than mud!

Here is a link that might be useful: Northscaping

Given your conditions I would highly suggest one of my favorites, Lavatera. Lots of cultivars and glorious blooms all season. I will ship you a seedling if you wish :-)

SCG

Thanks guys - that link is really helpful. Yes I have a couple of garden centers fairly near me as I live in the South of Calgary - can even drive down to Dewinton it's not too far.

Lavatera does look nice - i'll definately look into that one!

Thanks

Costco's garden centre is only open for a few short weeks but I have purchased nice shrubs and perennials from there for a fair price. The flats of annuals are also hard to beat for price but you can't mix and match, so unless you need a lot, then it might be a better idea to get these elsewhere. You'll get better selection and warranty at the premium nurseries but be prepared for sticker shock.

Ooooohhhh - lavatera would be oh so lovely - would really make a statement!!! You can always check out Home Depot, WalMart and Canadian Tire for plants as well - they often have bargains on mulch and compost and early in the season most of the stuff is alive!!

ha ha, always a bonus!