Many annuals should show some blooms by then. Marigolds come to mind. Probably petunias.

Many perennials can be sown now, but they probably won't come up until spring.

A bit of reference work is required. Look up the average number of days to germinate and add in the average number of days from germination to bloom. You also need to consider if the seed requires a cold period before germination (that can be faked by using refrig/freezer), which often adds another month or two to the time needed for germination.

Many marigolds take 5 to 10 days to germinate (we'll use "10") and another 45 days to bloom. That totals 55 days or about 2 months if all goes well. If you have 2 months until frost, you can plant now and enjoy at least a few blooms; using row cover to protect the new plants [from frost] should give you more time to enjoy - actually, in your zone 9, there should be more than a couple months available for blooming.

Thanks so much for your input! I think marigolds might be the one seed I don't have, but I will have to check again.

Again, thank you for your responses!

Truthfully, it would actually be more helpful to you if you told us what kind of seeds you DO have. Don't you think? This is sort of like a guessing game, and you might not come out with any help at all! So, tell us what kinds of seeds and we can probably provide some specific information.

that's a really good point, I thought of that as well. Some of the seeds I have are on my trade list, but I haven't updated that list in a while so I will have to do so when I get home.

If anyone else wants to chime in, I've updated my seed list!

Thanks in advance!

The short zinnias might do it for you.

Nigella will come up andthe seedlings will stay green through the winter, then it will bloom in spring. But it won't last all summer. I like to do it that way so I have something green in the bed,and it's early color before the perennials and annuals really get going.

I agree....the little zinnia's might be your only option for bloom this late in the season. I presume that they are the Zinnia angustifolia?

I'd have to check on the type of Zinnia.

Thanks for all of your input, I will try the Nigella and the Zinnia and see what happens.