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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.
​
Right there is pretty good advice.
Shhh!
I couldn't do it. I couldn't get rid of the bearded irises.
John R
2 min read
37 views
0 comments
Reckoning with December
December is a time of reckoning.
John R
1 min read
68 views
1 comment
Breaking Better
Look on the bright side, says Monty Python. Sometimes, you just gotta do exactly that.
John R
3 min read
23 views
0 comments
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...
John R
4 min read
93 views
0 comments
Dandelions—To Be or Not To Be?
Dandelions are the scourge of the suburban lawn—or are they?
John R
3 min read
47 views
0 comments
Chicago
A walk in Rosehill Cemetery amid one of nature's finest monuments—big oak trees.
John R
3 min read
29 views
0 comments
Artificially Intelligent
Come to think about it, what are those things coming out of the ground?
John R
3 min read
85 views
2 comments
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....
John R
5 min read
22 views
0 comments
A True and Actual Pain in the Ass
When life gives you hurts, make hurtinade.
John R
3 min read
59 views
1 comment
Last Tangle in Paradise
What to do when time is ticking away.
John R
3 min read
48 views
0 comments
Welcome to the Anti-Nut House
A soul-soothing look at a few garden bright spots.
John R
1 min read
51 views
3 comments
Sunny Side Up
Letting nature in by getting immersed in the immediate.
John R
3 min read
70 views
3 comments
The Return of Snidely Whiplash
I don't mean to complain and whine. It's just that I'm so good at it.
John R
2 min read
50 views
0 comments
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...
John R
3 min read
58 views
1 comment
Where Are the Dead Birds?
Inquiring minds want to know. And so do I.
John R
3 min read
36 views
0 comments
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....
John R
4 min read
70 views
0 comments
Snow Job
Daydreaming of a Glorious Horticultural Breakthrough.
John R
2 min read
20 views
0 comments
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Deep thoughts about small things.
John R
4 min read
63 views
0 comments
More Pepper Dreams
Helpful advice for growing chilies.
John R
2 min read
94 views
3 comments
Bad Pepper! Bad, Bad Pepper!
Blossom end rot tries to crush my naive hopes for a trouble-free harvest.
John R
2 min read
58 views
0 comments
Five Good Things
Sometimes you have to look for five good things.
John R
3 min read
64 views
0 comments
Cabbage Whites Save Summer!
They're happy little butterflies, but maybe they have a dark side?
John R
2 min read
43 views
0 comments
Swamp Grass
Adding a raised bed for growing chilies meant confronting the swamp grass.
John R
4 min read
108 views
0 comments
Slings and Arrows
The Tree Guy tried to pin this one on me. I’m not buying it.
John R
3 min read
58 views
0 comments
Tater-rific
Welcome to the Blind Pig edition of Schiddygarden.
John R
3 min read
32 views
0 comments
A Few Words from the Peanut Gallery
Sometimes a great notion simply doesn’t fly.
John R
3 min read
70 views
0 comments
Danger Zone
It's the scariest time of year in our garden.
John R
2 min read
94 views
0 comments
Flickers of Hope
That burst of sound cracks open the doldrums of winter with its insistence of spring.
John R
3 min read
75 views
0 comments
Camellia, We Feel Ya
How to grow incredible camellias without even trying. At all.
John R
3 min read
52 views
0 comments
Ivy Be-leaguer-ed
Ivy grows like crazy. What's not to like?
John R
3 min read
52 views
0 comments
It's Going to Be a Scrumptious 2021
Having breakfast outside in the sun is one of humankind’s most rewarding experiences .
John R
2 min read
22 views
0 comments
Are Those Bulbs in My Pants?
Planting a completely whacked-out flower bed that defies common sense.
John R
2 min read
40 views
0 comments
Mutiny of the Bounty
I don’t particularly care for cabbages and radishes, but I’m a sucker for alliteration.
John R
2 min read
41 views
0 comments
Memento Mori
Along came a Latrodectus and sat down for a semi-serious chat.
John R
3 min read
35 views
0 comments
Ridin' the Wild Leon
If you don't plant Leontodon, they will come anyway.
John R
2 min read
46 views
0 comments
Attack of the Tiny Tomatoes
Is too much of a good thing a bad thing?
John R
3 min read
36 views
1 comment
The Beauty Thief
A timely gift of beautiful flowers put my larcenous impulses on hold.
John R
2 min read
39 views
0 comments
Sticky Proboscises and other Sex Toys
Hummingbirds are stupidly fast, which explains a lot.
John R
3 min read
34 views
0 comments
The Three Amigos Throw Down
A ruthless, no-limbs-barred dustup is slowly taking place in the back yard.
John R
4 min read
45 views
0 comments
The Water Woes
Hellebores, you are woefully narcissistic and you can never get enough.
John R
3 min read
15 views
1 comment
Don't Foodle with Your Doodle
If you are inclined to low-grade entertainment, these are the bugs for you.
John R
2 min read
91 views
0 comments
The Case of the Missing Lilies
The clues: bare earth and unrequited mulch.
John R
2 min read
23 views
0 comments
Nature's Schiddiest Garden
We needed a big dose of raw nature to restore our faith.
John R
2 min read
50 views
0 comments
Kiss My Ash (goodbye)
It's a gnarly old tree, but should I cut it down?
John R
3 min read
41 views
0 comments
Wisteria Hysteria
Friends warned that wisteria was a relative of extraterrestrial xenomorphs.
John R
3 min read
43 views
0 comments
Reginald, My Dear
He was the greatest pet ever.
John R
4 min read
40 views
0 comments
Me Ignore Plain Facts
There are gardening tenets that are so basic you couldn’t possibly ignore them. But you do.
John R
3 min read
17 views
1 comment
The World's Clumsiest Tree
This sad, twisted clown of a plant is just crying out for love...
John R
4 min read
122 views
0 comments
Return of the Murdered Valerian
The toughest plant in the garden meets its match—Deb and a pair of clippers.
John R
6 min read
67 views
0 comments
The Drunk Robins Are Coming!
This annual event always creates a big kerfuffle.
John R
3 min read
137 views
0 comments
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