Help choicing fall/winter flowers

his is my first time starting to grow flowers by seed. I live in Barstow, CA in the desert. I think according to the USDA I am in zone 8b but according to the arbor day one I am in zone 9. My sunset zone is 11 I think. I want to know what flowers to get. I am looking for colorful flowers for the fall/winter. I want flowers that will bloom in the fall and winter. Also if you got any suggestion on what type of fall/winter flowers to attract hummingbird and any good year round evergreen vines especially with flowers. Thank you for reading this.

Being from Nebraska I'm not much help,but I know Sunset Western Gardening is an invaluable book.I have even referred to it for plants I grow here.There are lots of California members here who have a lot of first hand experince and are really helpful.I'm sure you will get good advice.

Lynn

I'll second the reco on the Sunset WGB, it's the "bible" of gardening out here and since your climate is pretty extreme it'll give you much better guidance on what will do well for you than anything that's just based on the USDA or Arbor Day zones (they are based only on winter low temperatures and don't account for any other climate factors).

I don't know how long they'll bloom in your zone since you're a bit colder than me in winter or how they'll do in your summers, but I have a number of Salvia greggii and Salvia microphylla cultivars which hummingbirds love, and for me they bloom pretty much nonstop from February or so through probably November-ish. There aren't really any hummingbirds around over the winter though, I'm not sure where they go but I see tons of them all summer and into the fall but none over the winter, so I wouldn't worry too much about them when you're planning for winter bloomers.

If you're looking for fall or early winter bloomers it's a bit too late to be starting those from seed if you want to enjoy them this year, I'd recommend checking out local garden centers for cool season annuals. For late winter/early spring blooms though you could probably still get some seeds started.

For plant ideas, besides the WGB, I'd also recommend checking out www.highcountrygardens.com , they've got a lot of plants that are suited to dry desert climates and they've got tons of things that hummingbirds love. You don't necessarily have to buy from them (although I've always had good luck with their plants) but at least use it to get the names of some plants that might do well for you and then you can either order from them or look for plants or seeds elsewhere. www.laspilitas.com is a great source for California natives--they sell plants but also have features on their website where you can figure out what will do well in your area.

this web-site should be helpful: http://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/seasonalgardening/winter/WinterGardeningSoCalStyle.aspx