Thanks so much Zuzu! I suspect we're a little bit ahead of you zone wise. Last year, my daffodils were basically done by mid-March - that's why I'm hesitant about bulbs, because their lifespan is relatively short. We may not have enough rain for wildflowers... but I've been spreading my old brown forget-me-not plants all over the place & some of them are starting to come up. The roses are what I was thinking I might be able to nudge to bloom a bit earlier - I already have quite a few own root roses in pots, so I can take them with me & I have calibrachoa (which were blooming last March) in with most of them & in my planter boxes. I bought a few six packs of marguerites & have started them growing in my baby/nursery bed, so I can transplant them in the spring... Hopefully, my tibouchina & some of my fruit trees & abutilon will be in bloom... and maybe my camellia & cymbidiums... My yard doesn't really lend itself to dainty flowers like pansies & primula, except maybe pots in front - but I'd have to put those out the day of the open house, because of the deer. I'll definitely plant some blooming perennials to fill in the drought tolerant areas which won't be doing much - ie. spanish lavender (most of mine is Grosso) - and the tagetes & mexican sage will (hopefully) be blooming, along with the euryops.
