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Schiddygarden
Welcome to Schiddygarden—the garden that's much worse than yours. If you’re expecting useful gardening information and advice, you might be disappointed.
On second thought:
If you do ANYTHING ELSE than what occurs in Schiddygarden, then your chances of achieving awesome results should increase exponentially.
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Right there is pretty good advice.
John R
3 min read
Breaking Better
Look on the bright side, says Monty Python. Sometimes, you just gotta do exactly that.
20 views0 comments
John R
4 min read
Annual Friend or Foe Quiz
It’s quiz time, and what self-respecting gardener doesn’t love a rousing no-consequences brain tickler? Truthfully, I’m not that fond of...
84 views0 comments
John R
3 min read
Dandelions—To Be or Not To Be?
Dandelions are the scourge of the suburban lawn—or are they?
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John R
3 min read
Chicago
A walk in Rosehill Cemetery amid one of nature's finest monuments—big oak trees.
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John R
3 min read
Artificially Intelligent
Come to think about it, what are those things coming out of the ground?
85 views2 comments
John R
5 min read
For the Love of Rellenos
I’ve written about our chili peppers before and although I don’t want to drive the subject into the ground I’m going to do exactly that....
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John R
3 min read
A True and Actual Pain in the Ass
When life gives you hurts, make hurtinade.
58 views1 comment
John R
1 min read
Welcome to the Anti-Nut House
A soul-soothing look at a few garden bright spots.
51 views3 comments
John R
3 min read
Sunny Side Up
Letting nature in by getting immersed in the immediate.
70 views3 comments
John R
2 min read
The Return of Snidely Whiplash
I don't mean to complain and whine. It's just that I'm so good at it.
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John R
3 min read
Dirge in A Miner
We could not be prouder of our spinach if they were our own children. Maybe prouder. Look how thoroughly green and upright! Look at those...
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John R
3 min read
Where Are the Dead Birds?
Inquiring minds want to know. And so do I.
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John R
4 min read
Stick It
My father cut off the ends of two of his fingers while reaching for a stick that poked out from under the lawn mower he was pushing....
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John R
2 min read
Bad Pepper! Bad, Bad Pepper!
Blossom end rot tries to crush my naive hopes for a trouble-free harvest.
58 views0 comments
John R
2 min read
Cabbage Whites Save Summer!
They're happy little butterflies, but maybe they have a dark side?
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John R
4 min read
Swamp Grass
Adding a raised bed for growing chilies meant confronting the swamp grass.
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John R
3 min read
Slings and Arrows
The Tree Guy tried to pin this one on me. I’m not buying it.
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John R
3 min read
A Few Words from the Peanut Gallery
Sometimes a great notion simply doesn’t fly.
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John R
3 min read
Flickers of Hope
That burst of sound cracks open the doldrums of winter with its insistence of spring.
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John R
3 min read
Camellia, We Feel Ya
How to grow incredible camellias without even trying. At all.
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John R
2 min read
It's Going to Be a Scrumptious 2021
Having breakfast outside in the sun is one of humankind’s most rewarding experiences .
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John R
2 min read
Are Those Bulbs in My Pants?
Planting a completely whacked-out flower bed that defies common sense.
40 views0 comments
John R
2 min read
Mutiny of the Bounty
I don’t particularly care for cabbages and radishes, but I’m a sucker for alliteration.
41 views0 comments
John R
3 min read
Memento Mori
Along came a Latrodectus and sat down for a semi-serious chat.
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John R
2 min read
Ridin' the Wild Leon
If you don't plant Leontodon, they will come anyway.
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John R
3 min read
Attack of the Tiny Tomatoes
Is too much of a good thing a bad thing?
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John R
2 min read
The Beauty Thief
A timely gift of beautiful flowers put my larcenous impulses on hold.
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John R
3 min read
Sticky Proboscises and other Sex Toys
Hummingbirds are stupidly fast, which explains a lot.
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John R
4 min read
The Three Amigos Throw Down
A ruthless, no-limbs-barred dustup is slowly taking place in the back yard.
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John R
3 min read
The Water Woes
Hellebores, you are woefully narcissistic and you can never get enough.
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John R
2 min read
Don't Foodle with Your Doodle
If you are inclined to low-grade entertainment, these are the bugs for you.
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John R
2 min read
The Case of the Missing Lilies
The clues: bare earth and unrequited mulch.
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John R
2 min read
Nature's Schiddiest Garden
We needed a big dose of raw nature to restore our faith.
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John R
3 min read
Kiss My Ash (goodbye)
It's a gnarly old tree, but should I cut it down?
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John R
3 min read
Wisteria Hysteria
Friends warned that wisteria was a relative of extraterrestrial xenomorphs.
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John R
3 min read
Me Ignore Plain Facts
There are gardening tenets that are so basic you couldn’t possibly ignore them. But you do.
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John R
4 min read
The World's Clumsiest Tree
This sad, twisted clown of a plant is just crying out for love...
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John R
6 min read
Return of the Murdered Valerian
The toughest plant in the garden meets its match—Deb and a pair of clippers.
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John R
3 min read
The Drunk Robins Are Coming!
This annual event always creates a big kerfuffle.
135 views0 comments
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