Oh, don't worry, you'll like spring bulbs :). Once planted, they require almost no care and most are so indescribably beautiful. Yes, plant them now, but you can keep planting until the ground freezes. Even after that you can pour water on the ground to defrost, then plant. Summer bulbs, like dahlias, take a bit more effort but are also very rewarding. One other thing: pay attention to heights and bloom times (and to a lesser extent, sun requirements, although you can often get away with sun-lovers under deciduous trees). Try to put together combos that bloom at the same time- like scilla and Tete a Tete daffodils (one of my favorites). More advice, since you asked :). Plant early-spring, late-winter bulbs like dwarf iris, giant crocus, chinodoxa, galanthus (snowdrops), eranthus (winter buttercup) etc. These little flowers are so dratted cheery at the end of winter, they just lift your heart. Especially since you may not be used to harsher winters. Also, beware of invasive spreaders like Ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem), ipheon, and to a lesser extent, muscari. You can't get rid of them. Have fun!

" Someday I am convinced that one of us on this forum will come up with an SVB deterrent that is absolutely revolutionary and startlingly simple." We need a parthenocarpic zucchini, that will produce without insect pollination, like greenhouse cukes. You could cover it with row cover to keep out SVB, only removing the cover to harvest. Any breeders out there listening??? I second the recommendation for "Tromboncino". SVB & mosaic were persistent problems when I grew zucchini; and while they still attack Tromboncino, they seldom kill it. I've seen the frass of SVB at the base of the vines, but the plant seems to have some defense; the infestation seldom progresses, and there is no sign of the larvae later in the season. The fact that the squash are 90% seedless doesn't hurt either... it has permanently replaced zucchini in my garden. But if you enjoy bush zucchini, then you need to deal with SVB. Some say to slice the stem & remove the larvae... but there were usually at least 4-5 in each stem, and I had shredded the stem by the time I removed them all. The plants never recovered. I had better luck with a long, curved tweezers, thrust into their holes... if I couldn't pull them out, I scrambled them. ;-) You could probably do the same thing with a pipe cleaner pushed in & out of each hole a few times. I've been dying to try a water pick, to see if it will blow them out of their holes. Not growing anything susceptible this year, though. The BT & syringe method works, but it is best done as a preventive measure, or when the infestation is not yet advanced.

Here in zone 9 in CA, we plant EVERYTHING in the Fall! The mild wet winter is a perfect time, as you say, for plants to establish their roots, in order to take off in the Spring (our Spring bloom, bulbs, bloom on fruit trees, etc starts in Feb!. If you are really in zone 9, it is unlikely that you would have hard killer frosts? I would not use chemical fertilizers until the Spring, just good compost. Jackie

In zone 8, the soil really doesn't freeze - a hard frost may make it crisp and crunchy the top inch or so but that's it. Planting any time after the bulbs are available in the nursery and in stores is fine. And you could continue onto the end of December for most spring blooming bulbs - much later than that and you miss the timeframe for vernalization and flowering. Planting early is less of an issue - the bulbs still have the winter to look forward to and if from previous seasons, they've been hanging out all summer anyway. Darwins have a better reputation for returning than most of the hybrids. I might be reluctant to plant with a containerized Japanese maple as these trees will need water in summer, whereas the tulips would prefer it dry(they perennialize much better if kept very droughty through their dormancy). Also, if the tulips didn't return well, then you'd have to go to the trouble of digging and replanting with something else. And JM's hate root disturbance.