Is it too late to plant? SE Virginia zone 7-8?

Question:thinking of making a flower bed with hydrangeas, lilies, gladiolus, ranunculas, and daisies. all from bulbs or seeds.

Answers:
Well, first, yes it is too late to grow from seeds this year, by the time they sprout, they will probably not have enough time to store energy to survive the winter. Also, many bulbs require a cold stratification period before they grow - usually between 60 -120 days of cold. In nature winter does this. You can usually get away with keeping them in the fridge, however, it would mean not planting them for another 2-3 months which is much too late to plant.

However, it is not to late to plant grown plants. I was at a garden center a few days ago and they were fully stocked with Hydrangeas, Azaleas, and countless types of Lillies.

I would suggest eitehr getting mature plants now, or waiting this fall to plant the bulbs for next spring.