I have some daffodils that flower very early here. They're apparently an heirloom varitey, on the small side, solid yellow, and multiply rapidly. I have no name for them, however. You list Dicentra 'Gold Heart'---is this the yellow VINING form of Dicentra???

If you want to sow the seeds now, do it inside. If you want to sow them outside, you need to wait until temperatures begin to modulate: temps need to fall into the high seventies or low eighties at least. But, of course it depends on what you want to grow. My favorite fall sown flowers are larkspur and California and shirley poppies. They all need to be sown outside where they will grow. They will germinate this fall, make rosettes of foliage, and then appear to sit there all winter. But, they are actually making roots. When the weather starts to warm in spring, they take off and are gorgeous. If you wait till spring to sow them, they won't be half as nice. Stuff that you would typically buy at the garden centers in mid fall (pansies, snapdragons, etc.) can be sown indoors right now. They will be ready to set outside at about the right time. If you're not set up to do it, say, with a greenhouse, my two cents worth is that pansies are difficult for beginners. I have never had a very high germination rate, it takes them all winter to get large enough to make much of an impact and the seed is expensive. But then again,....trying things is how you learn.

Fred, Sorry that your post has been hanging out there for a month. I hope by now you have been able to find some information regarding growing in the hot desert southwest. You don't mention exactly where you are located. My suggestion to you is purchase the newly revised edition of The Flower Farmer, by Lynn Byczynski. There should be some very helpful information in the book for you. Trish

Thanks, Phil and Anita. Can you believe, it's actually zone 4 here, bordering on 5 (most z5 plants will grow fine due to the heavy snow cover in the winter) but there's that much difference in the seasons! And thank you too, Ken. I think you're right. Would you be more likely to believe it's montana Aureomarginata rather than Paradigm? Somehow, I think the tags may have gotten mixed.