All good ideas.
Tulips can be planted any time from late september till the ground freezes- you just want to get them in the ground when the buls are shipped/before they send up shoots. Make sure you bury them deep- 6" min.
Cabages can also go in the ground late september through Halloween and will provide color through December. They will tolerate some light frost w/o any trouble. They won't get through a week in the teens, but otherwise they're pretty hard core when it comes to cold. I have had plants that make it all the way through till the next spring, but by then they're pretty ugly- stringy stems pointing in wonky directions or laid over sideways- but they are tough as nails.
