I've been cutting back things for a little over a week now. Prior to that the ground was like walking on a waterbed from all the snow melt. I am still trying to stay out of the garden beds while cutting back. I have a few stepping stones placed in some beds to give me a place to stand or squat. It is not easy and I look like I am playing twister trying to stay out of the beds. After a couple of hours of work my first day out I had four big blisters on my pruner hand and a VERY sore hamstring. What I do now is cut off the old dried up growth and break or cut it into smaller pieces and toss it back on the beds to act as mulch. Then I lightly fluff up the mulch, matted leaves, and debris with a rake...hopefully before new growth would be damaged. I'm going to try just doing this for a while and not use any more wood mulch around plants. I hate trying to dig in a bed that has big hard wood chips ground deep into the soil. Next year I may try getting a long handled hedge trimmer to reach in and cut down the old growth. Then use a rake to pull it out to be cut up and tossed back in. I don't try to break up anything super thick or woody and just put that out for yard waste pickup or in a brush pile. The ornamental grass cuttings would just blow off the beds, so I break them up a little and use them to mulch in my fenced off veggie garden along with purchased straw. I'm in northern IL too and I just had my first few crocus blossoms a few days ago. Wish I could remember which variety they are because they are much earlier than the other varieties which just have leaves up. My daffodils are about 3-4" up too. The only perennials I noticed with new growth is some catmint, a few columbines, and one errant hosta shoot. We got a few pansies put out yesterday just for a little early color.

I can maybe do the opposite of what yoy are asking...sold locally so you know they would have to do well here are: Chicago Candy Cane Chicago Apache Joan Senior Strutter's Ball Chorus line Others that are reported to do well from other GW members is Jolyene Nicole. Troubled Sleep is a Hanson if not mistaken which you should have no trouble with at all. Purple Maze & Peter Fernyhough are from Daylily World & off the top of my head can't remember what year they moved to KY. If their intro yrs are past that date you are in the gold for sure.

Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Herman's Pride', aka yellow archangel. Not supposed to spread as aggressively as the species but IME it does :-) The species is considered a noxious weed in many areas.

I think it's a considerable long shot in zone 4, so give it your most protected area. Some folks in your zone and colder grow tender roses like this in pots then wheel the pot into a protected garage or something for the winter. For me, this is too much like work, but you can ask Carol who grows in Canada zone 3 if you want to try this method (I think she's rosecanadian as her log in). Chicago Peace has been less hardy than Peace for me in zone 5, and has never overwintered even in a protected zone 6 pocket of my yard. I'm all for zone pushing and sometimes roses will surprise you, but don't get your hopes up. If it's grafted or a potted plant, rose crazy is right that you'll need to bury the graft deeply. Some winter protection like piling mulch around the base of the rose might help, but I have my doubts however much you protect this one. Always worth a try, but don't invest much. Cynthia