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!

Reckoning with December

Breaking Better

John R

2 min read

Shhh!

I couldn't do it. I couldn't get rid of the bearded irises.

32 views0 comments

John R

1 min read

Reckoning with December

December is a time of reckoning.

66 views1 comment

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...

78 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?

47 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Chicago

A walk in Rosehill Cemetery amid one of nature's finest monuments—big oak trees.

29 views0 comments

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....

22 views0 comments

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

3 min read

Last Tangle in Paradise

What to do when time is ticking away.

48 views0 comments

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.

50 views0 comments

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...

57 views1 comment

John R

3 min read

Where Are the Dead Birds?

Inquiring minds want to know. And so do I.

35 views0 comments

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....

69 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

Snow Job

Daydreaming of a Glorious Horticultural Breakthrough.

20 views0 comments

John R

4 min read

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Deep thoughts about small things.

62 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

More Pepper Dreams

Helpful advice for growing chilies.

94 views3 comments

John R

2 min read

Bad Pepper! Bad, Bad Pepper!

Blossom end rot tries to crush my naive hopes for a trouble-free harvest.

57 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Five Good Things

Sometimes you have to look for five good things.

64 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

Cabbage Whites Save Summer!

They're happy little butterflies, but maybe they have a dark side?

43 views0 comments

John R

4 min read

Swamp Grass

Adding a raised bed for growing chilies meant confronting the swamp grass.

89 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Slings and Arrows

The Tree Guy tried to pin this one on me. I’m not buying it.

57 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Tater-rific

Welcome to the Blind Pig edition of Schiddygarden.

31 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

A Few Words from the Peanut Gallery

Sometimes a great notion simply doesn’t fly.

70 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

Danger Zone

It's the scariest time of year in our garden.

94 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Flickers of Hope

That burst of sound cracks open the doldrums of winter with its insistence of spring.

75 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Camellia, We Feel Ya

How to grow incredible camellias without even trying. At all.

52 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Ivy Be-leaguer-ed

Ivy grows like crazy. What's not to like?

52 views0 comments

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 .

22 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

Are Those Bulbs in My Pants?

Planting a completely whacked-out flower bed that defies common sense.

39 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.

35 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

Ridin' the Wild Leon

If you don't plant Leontodon, they will come anyway.

46 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Attack of the Tiny Tomatoes

Is too much of a good thing a bad thing?

36 views1 comment

John R

2 min read

The Beauty Thief

A timely gift of beautiful flowers put my larcenous impulses on hold.

39 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Sticky Proboscises and other Sex Toys

Hummingbirds are stupidly fast, which explains a lot.

34 views0 comments

John R

4 min read

The Three Amigos Throw Down

A ruthless, no-limbs-barred dustup is slowly taking place in the back yard.

44 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

The Water Woes

Hellebores, you are woefully narcissistic and you can never get enough.

15 views1 comment

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.

87 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

The Case of the Missing Lilies

The clues: bare earth and unrequited mulch.

21 views0 comments

John R

2 min read

Nature's Schiddiest Garden

We needed a big dose of raw nature to restore our faith.

49 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Kiss My Ash (goodbye)

It's a gnarly old tree, but should I cut it down?

41 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

Wisteria Hysteria

Friends warned that wisteria was a relative of extraterrestrial xenomorphs.

43 views0 comments

John R

4 min read

Reginald, My Dear

He was the greatest pet ever.

40 views0 comments

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.

17 views1 comment

John R

4 min read

The World's Clumsiest Tree

This sad, twisted clown of a plant is just crying out for love...

115 views0 comments

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.

63 views0 comments

John R

3 min read

The Drunk Robins Are Coming!

This annual event always creates a big kerfuffle.

131 views0 comments

Schiddygarden

SIGN UP FOR MY LATEST BLOG POSTS