Got a chronic case of green thumb? Like getting your hands dirty? Adrian Higgins, garden editor for The Post's Home section, is here to help. Higgins is a firm believer in "tough plants for tough times" -- the varieties that combine good looks with stiff resistance to disease and pests. He currently rules over a garden filled with spring bulbs, daffodils, ornamental onions, perennials, asters, yarrows, hostas and day lilies. Higgins, an avid organic gardener who believes chemicals are a last resort, also tends his own herb and vegetable gardens where he grows peas, garlic onions, lettuce, rhubarbs, radishes, carrots and more.

Catch up on previous transcripts of The Garden Plot.

Higgins is the author of two books, "The Secret Gardens of Georgetown: Behind the Walls of Washington's Most Historic Neighborhood" and "The Washington Post Garden Book: The Ultimate Guide to Gardening in Greater Washington and the Mid-Atlantic Region."

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Columbia, MD: Last year you recommended a book on Hostas to me for my mom. She loves that book, but is now looking for one on Azaelas. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you so much!

Adrian Higgins: Fred Galle, who was director of horticulture at Callaway Gardens in Georgia, wrote a definitive book on azaleas. I don't have it (I have his one on Hollies) so I don't know how dated it is at this point. Plant varieties come and go in an unbelievably fluid way. Nor do I know how much it deals with native and deciduous azaleas, which have become more popular since the book was written. I would also check with the American Azalea Society for a recommended reference. Also, the horticultural library at Brookside Gardens is very good, I would call over there and see what the librarians recommend.

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Kensington, MD: Is it safe to plant my daffodil and allium bulbs now?

Adrian Higgins: Yes, if you can work the ground. I did some planting this weekend and found the 0.37 inches of rain we had to have actually soaked in quite well, albeit on ground that I had watered about a week before.

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Germantown, MD: We recently lost a magnificent 25 foot, 25 year old maple tree that completely shaded our small townhouse lawn. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to create an English or perhaps a Japanese garden in the now (afternoon) sunny yard. Where can I go for ideas on that kind of landscaping? Any alternative suggestions?

Adrian Higgins: Here's my take on Japanese gardens. A common mistake is for people to get all the props of a Japanese garden, the red bridge, the stone lantern, the turtle, the weeping acer, and simply impose this on an alien landscape. It doesn't work, it is superficial. Far better to think about the principles that drive Japanese gardens, and then build on it from the inside out, not the outsitde in. This includes using subdued plant materials with a great deal of attention given to textures of shrubs, perennials and ground covers and shades of green. I heard a funny quote from the English designer Roy Strong the other day, to the effect that flowers in a garden are a sign of failure. What he means, I think, is that you have to establish strong bones and then flesh it out with foliage. You can create a garden that is Japanese in feel, which is serene and meditative, but do a lot of research first.

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Pittsburgh, Pa: how do i keep the bugs off my basil? someone told me tobacco juice?

Adrian Higgins: That should make it taste good. Yum.

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Mclean, VA: After reading your article "Warming up to a new landscape" (Jan 4, 2007), I was wondering if you would recommend planting any particularly hardy cultivar or variety of Osmanthus fragrans. I have heard this evergreen is wonderfully fragrant over a long period of time, and was hoping we had warmed up enough in the D.C. area to give it a go. Any suggestions for siting and care to ensure survival?

Adrian Higgins: It's a Zone 8 plant, you might get it to work in a protected location, especially if you can get it through its first winter or two intact. I would also recommend a free draining site and watering the shrub well before the ground freezes in December or January.

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Evanston, Ill: Adrian--

I have had a lot of potted plants on my patio and steps this year. Do you have any basic tips for bringing plants indoors for the winter?

Adrian Higgins: It makes sense to transition the plants so that they are not in absolute shock when you do bring them in. The biggest jolt is the far lower levels of light inside a house than outdoors, even for plants kept in the shade. You also want to match the room conditions to the preferences of the plant. East and west facing rooms tend to have the type of bright but indirect sunlight that most houseplants desire. Also, examine them for pests, mites and mealty bugs, whiteflies and scale, in particular. While the plants are still outdoors, you can spray them with a horticultural oil or an insecticidal soap. If you see ant activity, that might be a sign of mealy bugs, which are pernicious and persistent, in which case I would soak the pot in a tub of lukewarm water for 30 minutes to drown the pests in the soil. If a plant is badly infested with anything, throw it away or risk contaminating the others over the winter.

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First timer: just bought some bulbs (tulips) and cannot remember the second one, about 80 total. I would love to have a line across the front of my home at least 2 or 3 deep. I anticiapte buying more if necessary. How dense do I have to plant the bulbs to get a full look - 5 per sf?

Adrian Higgins: The danger of planting bulbs in a line is that they look like toy soldiers. It can be effective, but I would plant in two or three files. In my formal beds, I plant the entire area with tulips. I like to use daffodils in a more natural way, and plant them in large drifts to be seen from a distance. (Apart from my show varieties, too expensive to plant that way.) The number of bulbs per square foot is linked to the size of the bulb and of the eventual plant, and also how long you want to wait, with specialty bulbs, to have an area filled. Five sounds about right for large hybrid tulips and daffodils, but you would want to double that for species tulips, small forms of narcissus, and things like small alliums, scilla and grape hyacinth.

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Squash on the Rocks: This is sort of a geewhiz question, but here goes. A couple of years ago I lived Bolling AFB. One day while walking along the river on base, I discovered a squash vine with a large green oblong squash growing out of the rocks that make up the bank along that stretch of river. It wasn't a variety of squash I normally see at the supermarket. How did that plant get there? Was a seed dropped from a passing bird? Could it have been in some garbage dumped in the river? This plant fascinated me and I checked it progress everyday during my walk. Finally the big squash disappeared. Some other walker must have taken it.

Adrian Higgins: That's amazing. One thinks of squash needing even moisture and rich soil to fruit well, and a rocky site wouldn't give that unless the roots found some rich alluvial soil below. I suspect the seed was moved by an animal, who knows perhaps a racoon stole a squash, took it to the rock to eat, and allowed a seed or two to fall? It wouldn't have been washed there by the river, I'd say. A seed that remained soaked for days would surely rot. Thanks for the story.

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HdG, MD: I feel you have answered this a million times, but of course, I paid no attention until I needed to know. So for that, I apologize.

I have a peony in a very odd spot. Its under a tree in the middle of the lawn (no mulch, no bed, no nothing). It also has some kind of rose tangle in it. Don't blame me, it came with the house! Anyway, I want to move the peony and the rose. Would this or next weekend be a good time to do this? I want to move both the peony and the rose to a sunny bed in front of a fence for support. Good? Oh, and the peony is covered in powedry stuff (mildew?) right now.

Adrian Higgins: Peonies will move, they may stop blooming for a year or two. Established roses don't move well, the roots go too deep. You will have to decide if you want to risk transplanting the rose, leave it in place, or just dig it out and start again. Tackle the peony first. The drought induced a lot of powdery mildew this year but it is always made worse by a location with poor air circulation. So find a new home for the peony that is in full sunlight and will remain that way and is not too close to a fence or wall where the air is stagnant. If you are going to move the peony, soak the soil well a few days before the move, and make sure that the new site has lots of enriched compost and will remain evenly moist until the peony is established.

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Ashburn, VA: I love the rugosa roses I find in Maine, and in reading online I see that they can do well in this zone as well -- but when I ask at the local nurseries (Merrifield, Meadows Farms), they don't carry them & know nothing about them. I have a source for root stock, but before I order, will they do well here, or am I wasting my time?

Adrian Higgins: Rugosas do better in northern climes, but they will grow here. Here, they tend to get more pests, flower for shorter periods and the hip display is disappointing. But they are among the toughest and most fragrant of roses, and I do grow them. Roseraie de L'Hay and Hansa are two superb red rugosas.

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Pittsburgh, PA: I didn't have a chance to seed (and overseed) the lawn this fall. How should I store the seed to use next spring?

Thank you.

Adrian Higgins: I would try and do it this weekend, if you can. Late I know, but the soil temperatures are still pretty warm, even in Pittsburgh, this year, I'd wager. You can store the seed in an unheated space, the critical thing is that it is kept dry. You may have to keep it in a trash can with a lid if mice and birds are a problem.

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Osmanthas fragrans follow-up:: If it really won't grow well here, are there any other fragrant evergreen shrubs that you could recommend that don't grow too big?

Adrian Higgins: There are burkwood viburnums (not terribly evergreen), the Daphne odora or Carol Mackie, and sweetbox. Eleagnus is no longer recommended, for its invasiveness. If you abandon the evergreen criterion, you could find a lot more, including clethra, fothergilla and witch hazels.

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Alexandria, VA: I haven't done a lot of the dividing and transplanting of perennials that I planned to do this fall -- what should I look for as the "drop dead" date to do this? I'm talking mainly about hostas, catmint and salvia.

Adrian Higgins: You want to have some root regrowth before the ground freezes, so I would say by mid November.

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Arlington, VA: While there has been discussion of when to plant bulbs this fall in relation to the high temps and lack of rain, I am wondering about existing bulbs. The Muscari are showing themselves. Should existing bulbs be watered occasionally, particularly the Muscari, in droughts such as this one? Thanks. P.S.--do you know a source for Muscari Comosum (not the plumed variety)?

Adrian Higgins: I don't have a source at my fingertips, but I would try Brent and Becky's Bulbs or Old House Gardens. Spring bulbs are growing roots now and need moisture, so watering beds of perennial bulbs would be a good idea.

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Nova Scotia: I have a couple of slender branches of gorgeously red burning bush shrub sitting in a vase of water in my kitchen. How do I propagate new shrubs from these branches? My friend thinks it's a member of the willow family and that we can simply stick them in the ground and they will take root. Is that how it's done?

(I still haven't figured out how to cope with the cursed coltsfoot weed.)

Many thanks!

Adrian Higgins: It's a euonymous, and not related to willow. You could grow new shrubs from seed, indeed it is considered an invasive weed in many parts of North America, perhaps even in maritime Canada, so be careful.

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Reston, VA: I have gathered seed heads from my existing perennials (black eyed susans, coneflowers, daisies, etc.) and wondered can I spread them in the fall after the first frost, or should I wait until spring?

Also, I gathered some seed heads from a peony. Will it bloom from the seed head, and can I spread that with the others?

Thx.

Adrian Higgins: If you wanted to be better assured of a new crop, I would use a cold frame and sow the seeds in plastic cups, which drain, and set in soil or compost to even temperatures. I would start them in a frame in February and set them out in May. If you don't have a frame, I would sow them now in a garden bed mulched with rotted compost. Keep the bed weeded this winter without disturbing the seeds.

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Annandale, Va: Hi Adrian--

I'd like to try something different than the usual boxwood,

holly, etc. for a four foot by 20 ft. space next to my brick

front home facing west. Can you offer some suggestions.

I've had azaleas there, but it's a little too hot for them,

and lavender which did well, but attracted too many bees

for people walking by on the brick sidewalk.

Adrian Higgins: I would consider some of the dwarf varieties of crape myrtle, and some pervoskia, although that too is a bee magnet. Smaller grasses would look good, I'm writing about ornamental grasses in Thursday's Home section, so look there for some ideas.

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Vienna, VA: How do I get orchids to bloom again after the blooms have fallen off the stem? How many times a year are they supposed to boom? Thanks.

Adrian Higgins: Assuming this is the moth orchid, I would cut the spent stalk to just above the third node. If the plant is happy (bright indirect light, somewhat warm room), this should induce a reblooming, at least once.

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Arlington, Va: Hi Adrian,

I hope you can help me. Each year, small "bees" (they might be hornets. They are definitely not wasps) make nests in the same general area of my yard. The area is about 5 foot x 5 foot. Their nests are below ground and the entrances are holes about 1 inch in diameter. I normally spray wasp and hornet killer in the hole and fill in the holes with dirt. However, I held off this year...so far. My question is, how can I deter these "bees" from nesting in this area and why would they be attracted to this area. Should I just continue to kill them and hope they don't come back?

Thank you so much.

Adrian Higgins: YOu get a species of ground bee active in May, and at this time of year the common old and waspish yellow jacket. Bumble bees also nest in the ground. I would think ground dwelling bees and wasps are having a tough fall, given the dryness of the soil.

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Vienna, VA: Hello -- We are moving into a new house next week. Most of the yard is grass, and we know we want to put in a large flower bed in the spring. What work can/should be done now to prepare for later planting? Or should we leave the turf in place for now?

Adrian Higgins: I wouldn't do anything other than pull down a few weedy vines. And I wouldn't plan a flower bed without considering a plan for the whole site and without getting to know the soil and light conditions intimately.

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Anonymous: Forgive me if you've answered this one a lot lately......how do I save canna bulbs for next year? I don't have anywhere safe from vermin that would be cooler than an indoor basement.

I was going to store them in some old pantyhose and tie a knot inbetween the bulbs, then hang from the pipes in the basement. Am I wasting my time? They always seem to rot for me.

Adrian Higgins: I like to store them in my pantyhose, but they make my legs looks a bit lumpy. If you live around here, the chances are pretty good that they will make it through the winter under a heavy mulch. Or, you can lift them now, divide them and store them in a plastic, covered trash can, between dry layers of peat moss.

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Vienna, VA: Hi Adrian,

Do I have to do anything to protect strawberry plants over the winter?

Adrian Higgins: No they are pretty hardy things and you want them to stay cold so they don't start growing too early. I would imagine last winter was a disaster for them, given the warmth followed by the frigid February. The straw mulch commonly used is to keep the soil evenly moist in spring and summer. Just keep the plot weeded.

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Bethesda, Md: Dear Professor,

I would like to dig out some violets and clover in the yard and plant some grass seed. Is it too late to do this? And, do you recommend using top soil or leaf gro with the grass seed? Thanks for your help!

Adrian Higgins: Again, I think the prolonged warmth has extended the fall sowing season. You have a weekend or two to do this. You will need good seed to soil (compost) contact, and even moisture. I think a lot of lawns that were seeded this fall have not taken because the seeds were allowed to dry out. Grass seed can take two or three weeks to germinate and it is critical that the seeds not dry out in that time. We are out of time again, but please check in with the Home section on Thursday for a lot of great gardening coverage.

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