Robbi:
Do you have any flower packets of seeds at home.
What you can do is to take your packet and look at how many days it says the seed needs to flower. Now find your "first frost" date here: http://www.avant-gardening.com/zone.htm
Now count backwards from the first frost date the number of days it takes until your flower blooms. That is the latest date you need to sow by: however you want to make sure your plant flowers for longer than say, one day....so consider that too.
Now think about some flowers that can tolerate a light frost - they are usually called "Hardy Annuals" eg. pansies and oramental kale

Now, does that help you? I could give you a list, but it helps you to plan for next year if you begin thinking about it now. Another job you can do for yourself is to snoop around looking at the gardens of others. Think now about what you want to grow next year by what you see this year. Then you can make your lists and be all set when the catalogs come out around Christmas!!!

Welcome to the wonderful world of winter sowing!

girlgroupgirl

If you would like a Newbie Seed pack for SASBE, email me and I will set you up. My concern would be that any perennials that you sow now would not be mature enough for fall plantout. I'm planting out here in zone 6 up to Thanksgiving in some cases. I have no idea what it is like to garden in zone 4. We have lots of zone 4 folks here who will be delighted to coach you on late summer sowing.