Landscaping with perennials in a hardiness zone 4?

Question

Here's a challenge for the green thumbs out there.
I'd like to create a perrenial garden, 50 feet long, 10 feet deep, on a gentle curving pattern, to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The site is protected from northern winds and has full morning and southern sun during the summer.
I'm going to move onto a cleared 200'X200' wooded plot with very rich soil and would like to eventually build a more complex garden from this starting point.
Which of you creative gardeners have the talent to show me what you can create?
I plan to put this little plot in front of a pergola which will be attached to a 3 season room attached to a mobile home, facing directly south.

Answer 1

Here's a list of Perennials with their zones:
http://www.thearb.org/perennials%20(a-j).htm

Here's some you might like for your zone:
Artemisia vulgaris ‘Oriental Limelight’
Dianthus
Eupatorium rugosum ‘Chocolate’
(perennial to 4 feet) Zone 4. Chocolate-brown leaves with purple stems and white flowers in late summer.
Helianthus ×multiflorus ‘Capenoch Star’
(perennial to 5 feet) Zone 4. Perennial sunflower with yellow flowers with wide centers similar to the annual sunflower.
Lysimachia ciliata ‘Firecracker’
(perennial to 3 feet) Zone 3. Native perennial with bronze/purple foliage and yellow flowers in the spring.
Persicaria microcephela ‘Red Dragon’
(perennial to 2 feet) Zone 4. Lance-shaped leaves with a burgandy center. Small white flowers on terminal panicles in summer
Phlox paniculata ‘Norah Leigh’
(perennial to 2 feet) Zone 4. Light pink flowers on green and creamy white foliage. Blooms in July-August.
http://www.griffithpropagationnursery.com/perennials.html
Try hardy Roses. "Knock Out" Roses will bloom all summer & are almost carefree. I love them!
http://www.gardenmob.com/blog1/2007/06/01/pink-knockout-roses/

The Dayliliy is another favorite carefree & colorful "everbloomers" ... that bloom all summer until frost... Stella D' Oro, Happy Returns, Pardon Me, & Rosy Returns (the first PINK everblooming Daylily)

Here's a site you might enjoy:
http://www.gardenmob.com/
Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I live on the border of zone 4 and zone 5, I know a lot of plants that survive in our areas, but I'm to tired to list them all, go to www.parkseed.com , they have tons of plants, ones you never heard of. Just type in something like "zone 4 perennial butterfly" and you will get a list of plants. Good luck, it sounds like a nice garden. Just as for 2 of my suggestions, I like columbine, and foxglove.