Well, that's the thing about cool weather (and, really, warm weather) crops in the Great Lakes region. You just never know what kind of weather the seasons will bring. I would hate to make a hard and fast rule about "don't plant cool weather crops after such and such a date" because our weather is so variable, and depends so much on where the jet streams and other weather patterns set up. There are years that it is so cool all summer it's a real struggle to get warm season crops to perform, but cool season crops thrive even in July and August. And then, other years, its turns hot early and cool season crops are basically finished by early/mid June. You just really don't know here. I say hedge your bets, plant away, and be prepared to rotate crops and use alternates if the weather doesn't cooperate.

I just love your pictures, I spent a bit of time viewing them while drinking my nightly valarian tea. :D Anyway, I can't use the zone 6 seeds for a swap, however, if you wish to check out my zone 4/5 list of seeds, maybe I have something you'd like. (I'm doubting it considering your very well filled out yard.) But I thought I'd offer anyway. You never know till you ask! *g* ~Bright Blessings and Thank you for sharing the pretty pics!

Putting seed down in late fall or winter is known as dormant seeding. From what I have read, it is a very good way to seed a lawn, and you save water since the spring rains do most of the work. When you dormant seed you put down the seed when there is no chance is will germinate, too early can be a problem as you run the risk of getting the seed to germinate too soon. Before the first snowfall is a good time as this will prevent seed from blowing away, being swept away by rains, and as the snow melts it will work the seed into the soil. It's a bit early to dormant seed now in most of the USA, I would wait till the day before the first snow.

Hi Maryann, To answer your question about my screen name, my wife and I are professional flower photographers and freelance garden writers. I aspire to be a gardener. Alas, even after 20 some years, I know next to nothing about gardening and less about butterflies. But I keep trying :-) Bronze Copper Butterfly I keep thinking that if I do something long enough, I'll eventually get good at it. I tell myself this everytime that I fail to keep another garden plant alive in my yard. I keep hoping that I'll do better next year. Hope springs eternal. Then, every once in a while when I'm in the garden, I'm in the right place, at the right time, and the light is perfect. A butterfly floats in and lands on a flower in front of me and I get a nice photograph. That's what I live for. Every year I strategically plan out my garden to give me some interesting photographic opportunities. But my best photographs always turn out to be about luck and about being there, being there in the garden. Maybe I'll never be a great gardener. Maybe I just do gardening because I enjoy being in the garden with the flowers, the butterflies, and the camera. Being there and waiting for luck to happen. Questionmark Butterfly Susan, I did see butterflies on my Nanho Blue. But I believe that finding the perfect location in your garden is more important then selecting the perfect cultivar. All of my Buddlejas cultivars attract some butterflies. My most productive plants are in spots of full sun (8 hours) and high heat (little nearby shade). When I grow these plants under less sun duration and/or near a shade tree, I attract many fewer butterflies. The shaded plants do bloom, but the blooms don't attract neary as many butterflies. My guess is that heat from a blazing sun it what causes the flowers to emit the proper fragrance. My best plants are also on south facing slopes. One is on the edge of a cement driveway (very hot in summer). Rain drains away and the soil heats up quickly. My poorest plants are those that are partly shaded (only 5 hours of sun). Originally, all of my Buddleja plants were in full sun, but the trees that I planted 20 years ago have grown a bit. Tom