I agree that spring flowering bulbs would be toast, and that you might (or might not) take a chance with summer/autumn flowering bulbs & perennials. I did want to chime in on the question of spring flowering bulbs being sold in the spring in the south, rather than the fall. My understanding is that, in warmer climates - parts of the country without an adequate cold-stratification period for some bulbs (some daffodils, tulips & others) those bulbs are sold in the spring "pre-chilled." So, if one lived in Florida, parts of California & Texas, perhaps, those bulbs would be sold pre-chilled in the spring, and then would be planted as annuals, since the winter would not get/stay cold enough (or for long enough) to give the bulbs what they need to return & flower in the following springs.

It would be very unusual. There are a number of Crocus that normally flower in autumn but they tend to be blue, sometimes white. I'm trying to think of a yellow species that flowers in autumn, but I'm drawing a blank. Have you compared to Sternbergia lutea, a common autumn-flowering bulb that is very similar to crocus?

Unless they were 'sprouted' when you got them - they need to form roots before shoots. (Which sounds contradictory I know...) A bulb can produce its leaves from the reserves of food inside the bulb and will do so in the worst of places (remainder bins at the big box stores...) but, before it can do much else it must put down roots. Has to. If you damped the mix when you planted don't add any more for a while until the container is about half as heavy as it was when you first watered it. Let it dry out. You've provided the 'drought-breaker' and reminded the bulbs to get going. They've got to produce roots to collect water before they can sustain a drive for the surface. Look again toward the end of January. If you have one single bulb planted up - use that as your sacrificial examination bulb so you can decant and replant to see what progress you can expect with the others. If the bulbs weren't greatly fresh on planting - expect some losses. No fault to the gardener; the bulbs lose vigour, is all. But some should come through.

Down time, a most appropriate name for my garden. It's in this mode for most of the year. May and June are the months when my garden looks it's best and then it slows down to a tangled mess for the rest of the summer, I'm not even going to mention fall. This summer was disastrous, I was laid up for most of the summer so nothing got done except for some watering which dh did for me. Some things got missed so whether they come back or not time will tell. Anyone tell me where I can find a new pair of legs? What Camp said sounded so familiar..."I am altogether harsh on myself about my garden. I am my own worst enemy though, because just when it starts to look OK, I get bored and need a change...so everything is always in a state of halfway done, chaos or wreckage. Like Flora, the dominant colour is always green but this garden obsessive (and, I am ashamed to say, greedy and demanding plant crazed mentalist)".... these words could have come out of my mouth up until now. I've never done much out front other than try to keep it looking tidy, when I did plant interesting things out there they seemed to disappear in the middle of the night or when we were out. We even came home one fall day to find someone had cut most of the hydrangea blooms off the one at the bottom of the steps. Needless to say without the protection of those dried blooms over winter, it didn't flower the next year. My bad, but the air was blue for awhile. We had to put a new water line into the house last fall so that hydrangea had to go but I managed to keep a couple of pieces and planted elsewhere. So, what to do with the little border that was dug up for the water line. I planted the Alma Potschke asters Sunny sent me, pinched twice they grew into beautiful plants just starting to bloom now. Even with the pinching they grew quite tall and the bamboo and wire stakes I ended up using were not strong enough so they needed some additional staking to keep them upright. Next year they will definitely be staked with the rebar and wire stakes I usually use. These asters have brought the honey bees that have been absent from my garden all year. I'm having to seriously rethink my garden over the winter, I will always have a garden but I'm afraid the time has come where it's going to have to be a garden where it can be left to it's own devices, so more shrubs and mulch in some of the areas where I have had perennials. The top garden I'll keep for perennials like phlox and some of the others I love but the rest has to become low maintenance. It's this or no garden at all :(. Annette