Groundhugging shrubs.

[cohan]

Clearly you are more ambitious skiers than me  Actually, I'm sure you could dodge the trees easily enough here, but the tangle of rose, ribes, loniceras, shepherdia etc on the ground I think would be very hard to ski through without getting stuck, and the snow is not deep enough to bury them completely; Likewise, wet areas with dense willow, birch and alder--all dense clusters of thin trunks, are very hard even to walk through...
Spruce limbs here are not terribly short, but nor are they very thick, and they are very flexible, so they have no problem.. Poplars and birches can have a bit of an issue with wet heavy snow, usually only once they are in leaf...
We have a long weekend at the end of May--popular time for a late heavy snow 

[Todd Boland]

I know too well the damge from compacted snow as it melts...I used to have plenty of rhododendrons but have replaced most with deciduous azaleas as the latter are not so prone to the pancake effect.

I am rather fond of our native prostrate form of Shepherdia canadensis...it is a truly prostrate form and comes true from seed (as they don't root for beans from cuttings)

[Hoy]

Todd, that one is a winner! I really like it
If you have spare seed I would love to try it

[cohan]

I know too well the damge from compacted snow as it melts...I used to have plenty of rhododendrons but have replaced most with deciduous azaleas as the latter are not so prone to the pancake effect.

I am rather fond of our native prostrate form of Shepherdia canadensis...it is a truly prostrate form and comes true from seed (as they don't root for beans from cuttings)

WOW! I had no idea that existed! Would love to grow that The standard form is common here..

[RickR]

Wow, put me on the someday list for that special seed too, please, Todd!

Do you see a difference in growth between male and female plants?  We are supposed to have Shepherdia canadensis and S. argentea here, but I think I have only seen S. argentea.

Is that an Erica sp. that I see it growing with?

[Hoy]

I'll guess it is an Empetrum, crowberry!

[RickR]

Yes, I hadn't thought about crowberry.  Probably more likely...

[cohan]

Do you see a difference in growth between male and female plants?  We are supposed to have Shepherdia canadensis and S. argentea here, but I think I have only seen S. argentea.

Here S canadensis grows every few feet...lol, but S argentea is supposely only in the south of the province... Elaeagnus commutata (silverberry) does occur in isolated spots here, and more commonly in the foothills .. hoping to get some cuttings this year from a spot about 10 miles from here..

[McDonough]

I know too well the damge from compacted snow as it melts...I used to have plenty of rhododendrons but have replaced most with deciduous azaleas as the latter are not so prone to the pancake effect.

I am rather fond of our native prostrate form of Shepherdia canadensis...it is a truly prostrate form and comes true from seed (as they don't root for beans from cuttings)

Wow Todd, a superb dwarf form of Shepherdia ... I hesitate to join in lest you be overburdened with requests, although I'd like to join the club!  Thanks for showing that beauty and making us aware of its existence.

[Lori S.]

Elaeagnus commutata (silverberry) does occur in isolated spots here, and more commonly in the foothills .. hoping to get some cuttings this year from a spot about 10 miles from here..

As much as I like wolf willow (E. commutata) in the wild (especially for the fragrant flowers), it's worth mentioning that it has a very strong suckering habit... something to consider when deciding where (or whether) to plant it.

Nothing too exotic here... Juniperus horizontalis 'Pancake', coming out of its rusty winter colour and remaining small and completely prostrate after 4 years:

[cohan]

Cute little juniper..
I can see that habit of Elaeagnus commutata in the wild, I definitely would not plant it near any garden beds (though nothing could outsucker the native poplars here, and they can reach every inch of the 6 acres with their suckers, my main reason for mowing....)..I could give it space to do its thing, likely with mowing on at least one side, such as along the side of our property along the road, already a line (not single line, a few metres deep) of trees, but I'd like denser screening......

[Hoy]

Nothing too exotic here... Juniperus horizontalis 'Pancake', coming out of its rusty winter colour and remaining small and completely prostrate after 4 years:

With that name it has to stay flat for lot more than 4 years;)

[Hoy]

Here's a natural form of Juniperus communis.

[Lori S.]

It's not exactly ground-hugging but Betula apoiensis is a nice little tree, suitable for the larger rock garden.
It's shown here just after leafing out at the end of May, and in fall colour at the end of October this year:
 

http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-21161
http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://talent.paperblog.fr/5568852/une-belle-ecorce-betula-apoiensis/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbetula%2Bapoiensis%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1510%26bih%3D995%26prmd%3Dimvns&sa=X&ei=GGKhUOaCEI7UigKm9oDABQ&ved=0CFEQ7gEwCTgK
http://www.apoi-geopark.jp/file/pdf/apodake_leaf_e.pdf

[cohan]

Nice birch, seems to have similar leaf texture to the native dwarf birches (which I only see in grazed contexts, so I don't know how small they stay- I see Kristl got some seed of B glandulosa in the Rockies, and  she mentions 1-3 metres.. don't know if its the same as those I see around here) but your birch has a very different habit- more pendulous and graceful...