Just off the top of my head, here are some bulbs (and other geophytes) that have done well in the garden here against expectations of their hardiness. My garden is nominally USDA Zone 7 (winter minimum zero Fahrenheit/minus 16 C), but plants rated Zone 7 for the eastern part of North America rarely survive a normal winter here, with temperatures in the mid-teens F. Scilla verna Muscari muscarimi Muscari macrocarpum Iris unguicularis Fritillaria persica Narcissus triandrus Crocus laevigatus Crocus ochroleucus Cyclamen graecum I will be trying more this year, even some small Narcissus species. In my bulb frames I grow many reputedly tender species, even though temperatures inside the frames can easily descend to the mid-20s F on cold nights. I've learned over the years that pushing the hardiness limit in this way causes the plants to appear much more in character, whereas in the solarium/greenhouse that is frost-free, they often elongate despite receiving as much light as in the frames, do not flower so well, and get pests and diseases. I have lost a few winter-growers from South Africa and North Africa in the frames, but quite a few plants from those areas flourish there, even some with fleshy winter foliage like Asphodelus acaulis. Jane McGary Northwestern Oregon, USA