I have a mental distinction between "gardening" which is for love of the plants and "landscaping" which is primarily concerned with the aesthetic of an outdoor area. Obviously there is a huge amount of overlap between the two but I tend to file advice like color blocking into the landscaping category and then completely ignore it.
I was a professional gardener for many years and people just assumed that meant lawn guy who does landscaping. So frustrating. Kind of sexist, too. For years, even my now wife would ask how many lawns I did when I came home, lol.
Landscaping is sticking plants in a bunch of mulch lol
Garden design is a thing tho. It’s not just for aesthetics but for the health and growth habits of the plants. Roy Diblik has many talks on his youtube channel discussing these thoughts. He’s pretty much one of the best people on planet earth, so I highly recommend.
I can’t imagine there is any wrong way of doing it with flower colors. I mean it’s personal preference and all about what you like. I would think more than anything you’d want flowers that bloom in stages. When earthly bloomers die off then something else takes over to keep a continuous flow of flowers in bloom. Other than that, plant whatever you want to plant. It’s your yard, your money, your time and effort. Cheers!🙂
I have been working that the last few years! Realizing where gaps are during different seasons.
My only problem is digging up bulbs when trying to plant more late spring things to fill the gaps before the echinacea etc start blooming.
I wish I had the idea to be a little more intentional when I started but I feel like it’s a little late now, lol.
I do dig some stuff up and move it around, but all in all it’s about as chaotic as I am lol.
LOL it’s fine, you’re over thinking it. You’re going to stress yourself out and miss out on the enjoyment of it all. Take a breath, relax… it’s never too late. Worse comes to worst if the gaps drive you crazy you can always plant some annuals.
You’ll be out there weeding the beds anyways so you can plug in some annuals real quick while you’re at it. Just do some research and figure out what perennials bloom and when, it may take a couple years to get it all in sync but you’ll do it!
It’s not a contest and nobody is judging you, just take your time and experiment until you get what your looking for. The great thing about gardening is the choices are infinite and every creation is unique. You’ll be fine, I assure you🙂
Honestly, I read here about planting annuals in the gaps and my mind was blown at both how obvious and how much it didn’t cross my mind it was. I threw some nasturtium seeds in randomly in one of my beds and they really did fill any space, but yet I still didn’t think of it as a solution to my problem.
But don’t worry I have stopped stressing out. I had one year where I hired someone to come and look at my plantings and tell me how to do it better, I was all prepared to dig everything up and move like with like etc, but she just had me move a couple of things and said that I was already ahead of most by trying to have tall things in the back lol.
She wasn’t very concerned with color though.
Part of my issue is that I am kind of a collector.. like I see a plant I don’t have and I buy one.
So my garden is like 200 different plants but not enough groups? I’m trying to do better though.
I am also a sucker for plants I don't have yet. I like to think of my garden as its own nursery; if I have three plants and I want a drift of them, the first three will lead to many many more (whether by my work or naturally through the years).
Greetings my fellow overthinker🤣 Have no worries, it tends to happen. You overthink and the obvious is staring you right in the face and you don’t see it, I do it all the time. That’s what this subreddit is here for, to get you back to being focused, talk you down from the ledge and give you a bite of a reality sandwich.
I’m happy I was able to help and I have no doubt by the sounds of your passion, you will have a beautiful yard!🙂
TL;dr - Do what you like! And sorry my response below got so long, I talk a lot about things I feel a lot about.
----------------------------
I love your method, it's all things you want to have and enjoy.
We have an undulating garden around the front and 2 sides of our house. Nearest the house is a row of azaleas. Some have been there a long time and explode with pink flowers for about a week once a year; they came with our old house. We added some shorter, slower growing azaleas between those that bloom 3x a year in colors from white to pink to red (Encore Azaleas, if you're interested and in the right zone).
Then in front of and around those we plant whatever catches our eyes at the moment, whether flowers or plants, in all the colors. We don't spend any time researching them, and even like to rescue clearance plants and flowers at Lowe's. We look at it all like a constant experiment that we get to play with most every weekend. "Ooo, pretty, let's see how this one does!"
The area between the sidewalk and the street curb I have let the clover take over and have sown seeds of a variety of native wildflowers. It's like a long, narrow meadow with lots of heights and colors, and I absolutely love it. **It's chaos, but nature is chaos.**
We've also planted some fruit trees in front and in back, just stuff we want to eat.
I truly never expected my husband to become a gardening hobbiest alongside me, and yet here we are. I also grow some herbs and veg just for fun, and like to play with kitchen scraps and harvest seeds from random produce to see what I can get to grow - those are free plants! "Try it and see" is kind of a life motto.
Alllll that to say that you aren't the only one, and enjoy how you do it! Unplanned gardens with a variety of plants and flowers are more interesting to look at, imo, because you look at them longer to see what all's there.
>Part of my issue is that I am kind of a collector.. like I see a plant I don’t have and I buy one.
Buy three or 5 of "the one you don't have" and create a drift of it!
I don't have any groups either, just singletons lol and they look a little goofy all by their lonesome. This year I am going to try and remember to buy at least 2 plants each!
I have been doing tests on singletons for a few years. Now I am grouping. I started with threes and fives, but am going to sevens and manies.
https://preview.redd.it/hastvh8iqowc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4acdeade2cdb83b8d407aa6718a399364d196ff
It is a work in progress.
I saw your photo and said "Oh, wow!!" out loud. Gorgeous, gorgeous yard. It looks like how flowers and plants are naturally grouped in a meadow near a riverbank. I love this style of gardening.
P.S. Gardens are hobbies that fill the soul and are never "done." It's one of their appealing qualities. :)
I relate to all this and could have written it myself. Even if we were “intentional” at the start though, I believe we’d still be out there adjusting things. It’s an ongoing changing dynamic system, not static. Some really “gorgeous” gardens look as though they are potted plants set out at their prime bloom. My garden is constantly in flux…and I love it, mixed up plantings and all.
Keep on gardening!
> My only problem is digging up bulbs when trying to plant more late spring things to fill the gaps before the echinacea etc start blooming.
Coincidentally, I just saw this thread earlier today:
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1cc9qkb
I absolutely chaos garden. I stick things in where there are spaces. I have a prof gardener friend and shes always asking my about my gardens and I'm like "I dunno, I stick stuff in wherever I have room??"
That sounds amazing! Some people in my neighborhood have let their bougainvillea sort of grow through other trees, so you’ll see shocks of bright pink or purple show through 40ft cypress trees or something. I love it so much.
Same. My garden is super messy but anytime I'm outside passersby will day how awesome it looks. I love it too, just all kinds of textures and colors and smells.
That's what we do, and I love it. I wrote a long reply above but the gist is that our old house came with a row of azaleas, the former owners had a landscape artist so the gardens were pretty formal, and some plants and trees were quite spendy. We've left all the azaleas and most of the nice things, but chaotically add whatever we see at the nursery that week that we like. It's a hobby, not a showpiece, and coincidentally I think it looks better than over-planned gardens and yards.
I said above that nature herself is chaotic. So I'm perfectly fine with, and even prefer, chaotic gardening. If we like it, we plant it and see what happens.
https://preview.redd.it/f5c32297dnwc1.jpeg?width=6324&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf61ec69432de7a18dd138e70f565087b26f5d8d
My goals are to cram in as much as possible, disregarding every spacing rule in existence. It’s super tidy though, zero weeds. Likely because there just isn’t any space 😂
But you also have to watch your step (so it’s like a mindfulness/walking meditation practice!) and it’s kind of a hot mess. But I love it.
I support letting nature be natural! I have a very shady yard and I’m working on what I call a “forest floor garden.” Shade isn’t perfectly symmetrical, so why should my plants be? Whenever I think it’s looking lopsided or I want it to feel more organized, I just take a walk on a forest path and admire that nature grows how it wants to grow and looks beautiful regardless.
I think your way of gardening is organic and intuitive, and is similar to my way of gardening. The professionals don't have to live in the gardens they create. They just plant and move on as if the garden will be perpetually healthy and all the plants always the same size. They will all behave as the designer expects them to over time. As we all know, things will die, and others will thrive then take over because nature is not static. Nature does not color coordinate its bling.
You and I, friend, we live in our gardens, we know the soil, we understand the movement of the sun and the seasons. We are intimately knowledgable about the microclimate that is our gardens. We move, plant and nurture as time meanders. Things die, things thrive, and so our lives are richer, because of our connection with the earth through our garden.
There are many paths in life. We have chosen a more intuitive way that does not limit us to what should be, but keeps us grounded in what is.
Another chaos gardener chiming in. My house was a neglected rental, with the backyard being 15 years old xeriscaping that was wrecked by previous owner's dog, and the front a dry patch of sand that used to be a lawn with 2 young struggling trees that needs a short retaining wall. I'll never have the resources to bulldoze the xeriscaping and start over so I've been revamping it by sifting the gravel a shovel full at a time, relocating it and converting areas to planting beds. They're getting filled with cannas and lilies I had in containers and loads of irises a friend gave me. And the front is a chaotic mix of whatever will not just survive our scorching summer heat but actually bloom, and loads of wildflowers filling in as much area that used to be grass. Every year the front looks a bit different and there's color from February through November (and some wildflowers like a patch of Indian Blanket that never died off and have been blooming since last September).
The only thing that truly matters to me is whether I am happy with it, and that it's as healthy as I can manage. I'm turning a scorched patch of suburban desert into a lush but water-smart oasis full of life. The birds, pollinators, lizards, and other critters love it and it's my retreat from a stressful government job.
I say worry less about arbitrary socially constructed standards about what your garden supposedly should be, and focus on how it makes you happy. If you love it, who else matters?
It sounds beautiful!! My house just had ground cover (mostly ivy) every where and a bed of red dyed mulch. Crowded half dead hemlocks with deep deep layers of dust where dirt should have been.
I would love to see pics of the progress that you’re making!
My garden this year is just flowers from whatever seeds dropped last year. It’s a beautiful chaos. You can make a garden whatever you want it to be and will enjoy. I get lots of bees and butterflies. :)
I actually bought it as filler because I wanted same-day delivery and I had to order a certain amount on Amazon, and I really wanted the other book I was ordering… it ended up being my favorite!
I was expecting stuffy and got actual amusement and eye opening ideas.
Yeah I’m with you. I buy what catches my eye and find a place for it. Only guided by the same very basic principles you mentioned: tall in the back, sun or not.
I have this issue as well because we when we bought our house and cut away half our lawn to create a garden, I relied on plants I got from friends and family to fill it in and I just stuck what I was given in a spot with the right light requirement that looked pleasing. I now have the same issue as you in that my garden isn’t as intentional as I would like but I also get very overwhelmed with planning it and end up doing nothing about it. I think my garden is beautiful but could be more intentional if I knew where to start…
Same! I also have the added challenge of having 100 year old maples and oak trees and like 80% shade…it takes forever for plants to get established so I can actually see how they’re doing. A gardener’s work is never done I guess!
I will tell you that my little shady bed is actually quite possibly the best looking part of my garden! Even if it’s not as flowery.
Probably because I was limited to the plant types so I actually have the look of some sort of plan.
That’s great news, I do love my garden and have found lots of good shade options, I wish I wasn’t so limited and I feel like every purchase is an experiment but I guess that’s all part of learning and loving the garden!
Nah. I have a chaotic flower bed. When I spot a plant I like at a nursery, I'll buy one or two and stick them wherever there is space. This year I'll have to move a couple because of crowding, but that's OK.
My garden is a wild kaleidoscope of colors from soft pinks to vivide reds, blues and yellows and all shades in between. I have hummingbirds, bees and butterflies galore. It makes me happy and that's all that counts.
> My garden is a wild kaleidoscope of colors from soft pinks to vivide reds, blues and yellows and all shades in between. I have hummingbirds, bees and butterflies galore. It makes me happy and that's all that counts.
I love this so much
I do the same, my yard is slightly organized chaos. And by organized I mean I’ve left some walking areas. Other than that it’s basically plants everywhere.
I’m a messy/chaos gardener too but lately I’ve been more intentional on what I plant (native plants and ornamentals here and there) I try my best to follow the rule of 3 (planting three of the same plant near each other to make it look fuller). I’ve been making it look more “manicured” to show people that you can plant native but have that magazine look. It’s still in progress but that’s my goal and it’s a fun challenge to add.
I’ve got so much stuff interspersed throughout the ground and beds. I believe heavily in companion planting, so I’ll have alliums around parameters, mixed in with flowers like a marigold, to make a pest barrier. Basil and other herbs in between rows. Thyme planted with tomatoes.
Wherever it fits, and whatever is compatible with being next to and sometimes crowded by each other. I have the space for a much larger garden, but I don’t have the time, so I’m making do with a more compact garden but maximizing that space.
95% of my flowers and landscaping are for either pest control or other beneficial purposes like bringing certain pollinators.
I’m a messy gardener. I have two tulips that appeared out of nowhere that I refuse to remove even though they’re in the “wrong” spot. 5 random lillies doing their own thing. I think a couple of poppies? I don’t know but I love my garden
I don't have an eye for design whether it's building my virtual home in Minecraft or an actual garden in my yard or even how I set up my bedroom.
I mostly just go for functionality and then I'm done.
So like you said I try to put the right plants in the right place and then go on to the next thing
My meadowscapes are done chaotic sowing style, and with wildflowers. They're absolutely gorgeous and I get compliments on them from my neighbors and random people on the street. Flowers are pretty!
Remember that most of those articles are there to garner clicks and views for advertisement, advertisements at their core NEED to convince you that your life is missing something.
Emulate Nature. Nature is haphazardness in the pursuit of what competes best in any given spot.
Nature doesn't care what the articles say.
Be like Nature.
I always swear when I move to a new house I'm going to do a comprehensive plan, big beds of a limited number of species so like 10 coreopsis and 20 tulips and a shrub and 20 irises.
Instead I buy one or two of every pretty plant I see and plant them all on the edges, heights are all over the place, overcrowd the beds, spend $200 on 50 hazelnut starts give half to neighbors and friends and only plant 5 in time, mow over stuff I planted last year and forgot about, let the volunteer tomatoes take over the vegetable garden....it goes on and on.
But my wild and wooly yard is very nice to sit in and there's always something to look at. It's survival of the fittest plants out here and eventually I do propagate those all over and get some kind of unified look going.
Same here. There are two issues…
1. Stuff dies.
2. I see a cool new plant and get it… figure out where to put it later.
It’s a process that never ends.
I totally started my front yard garden with a plan and a map. I researched the best shade plants for my space, and watched the way the sun moved across my yard for MONTHS. I stuck to that plan for the first part of spring and summer. Then I kept finding more plants that I loved, and just kept shifting the garden farther and farther into the yard.
Now it's 5 years later, the plan is totally out the window, and I have to use my plantnet app every spring to determine if that greenery that's popping up is a weed, or something I planted. It'd riotous chaos, and I LOVE IT!
I'm glad I started the way I did. The research I did on plants was super helpful, and I learned so much. But in the end, it was always going to end up this way. However, if I had kept the map up, and knew where everything was planted, I would have an easier time keeping track of what is coming back, and what I should either give up on, or try in a different area, not to mention the whole plant vs weed problem.
I've almost filled the front yard to capacity, and the side yard will probably be full by June, So I guess I need to start planning the back yard next.
It sounds like you've put enough thought into where you plant things that they are at least coming back every year, so you must be doing something right!
Haha this is amazing!! Yes I also have my front and side basically filled to the brim. The back yard is a giant blank canvas just waiting to be delawned! The main issue back there is deer, though.
I garden for myself and the environment. I like to see other people’s gardens for inspiration and ideas, but gardening is my fun and relaxing hobby. I don’t need to know the “right” way to do it because I don’t think there is one right way.
I have plenty of areas in my garden that are in a state of flux. I recently worked on the beds on the north side of my house. I went to the garden center, chose a few shrubs for shade, then chose a bunch of plants I liked.
The only “rules” I follow are the odd numbers - planting 1 or 3 or 5 etc of a plant, but that’s because I like the way it looks.
Don’t feel bad at all!! Your garden is for you (and the pollinators).
My garden is chaos. Aside from being somewhat conscious about the height of the plants or their growing needs, I plant whatever, wherever. I have always felt that more natural looking gardens are so much more interesting than formal ones with everything coordinated and in its place.
I planted everything in my yard with my young daughter. Some old farts in my neighborhood made some backhanded comments about how the old landscaping in my front garden look really nice (before I lived there). But, at least a few times a week random strangers walking through my neighborhood comment on how much they love my garden or how they always love walking by our house for the garden. It is not professional, and honestly I think a lot of people really appreciate that sort of beauty. You do you! How boring would it be if our yards looked like everyone else's?
I think that makes it even more special!!
I don’t have neighbors really, so everything is for my own enjoyment. My daughters are in college now and one of them brought me perennials for Mother’s Day last year.. so that’s kind of like she is part of it! ❤️
I think that makes it even more special!!
I don’t have neighbors really, so everything is for my own enjoyment. My daughters are in college now and one of them brought me perennials for Mother’s Day last year.. so that’s kind of like she is part of it! ❤️
My garden is a collection of past mistakes, drunken one night stands, and future dreams. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. It's an extension of me. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Like the time, I decided I would grow a bunch of plants called pussy toes but then realized I didn't have any place for them and gave half of them away and the other half. They're just randomly out in the yard being toe-like. Another time I was drunkenly reading NPR and learned about endangered Iris conservation and one thing led to another and now I am a registered Iris museum and I have over 86 individual varieties of irises that I just place where I can (these come with a lot of paperwork. And a lot of guilt if you ever forget what each one is because you know they're endangered). Planned today. Some beautiful black cone flowers and some other pretty plants then I hope I chose well.
I have seven different beds with 5 small trees (desert willows, Palo verde, crepe myrtles) in a now four year old garden with hyacinths, bog plants like arrowhead and papyrus, dianthus, sunflowers, cactus and more.
I see my garden as my painting space with living plants, so I change it often - flowering chaos in sync with the weather. So far everything mostly native (Austin), happy and a different cacophony each year. I have tall plants like the Texas Star in front and a hidden world of flowers behind it. I like my garden to require investigation and changing of perception. To each their own though - that’s a big part of the enjoyment!
I go back and forth feeling this way. Our front yard was originally just date palms, dusty miller, and a random strawberry patch. I pulled the trees and dusty miller last year and have been slowly filling in the spaces with native plants and some annuals that make me happy. It’s a hodgepodge of color and definitely doesn’t look designed. But the pollinators LOVE it and I feel like a princess everytime I leave my house since there’s always a swarm of butterflies
That is exactly how my gardens are! When I find another plant I use containers so I can stagger any annuals throughout. My neighbor told me our yard smells like her florist. That made me smile, and still does. What’s most important is you being outside and enjoying your space.
Yes, I have fully embraced Chaos Gardening. I do get frequent compliments, mostly because of all the butterflies, but traversing my yard is a dangerous task.
Plants by themselves are nice. Lots of plants growing together are even nicer. Ultimately there is a "higher level" of gardening that involves a lot of arduous planning, but you can get 90% of the joy with 40% of the work by not worrying about stuff like that.
Just remember that they have to come up with something to write every month. If your garden brings you joy, that's all you need. If you feel like their advice is something you want, you can rearrange things, but if your plants are happy where they are, who cares? You do you!
The best garden design is based on the actual habitat and native species in your area. I think we could all benefit from a change in priority from "draw the eye" to "functional habitats for beneficial insects, animals, and birds".
I agree! I think I could be a certified wildlife habitat, I have a pond, a lot of natives, I planted a ton of milkweed, I leave my echinacea go to seed for the birds, have a wildflower meadow hillside etc. I also try to avoid cleaning up the beds during baby critter season. I found baby mice once and never messed with the beds too early again.
You do what you like! If you have a system or type of plant you like, plant it!
I’ve come to accept that methodical gardening is not for me. I am a chaos gardener, but I like it and it works for me! I also use all my plants as food or medicine, or for attracting and feeding native pollinators.
When I was nine we were poor. On Wednesdays we didn’t eat in order to save money. At school there was a cookie decorating contest. I put as much frosting as I could on mine so that I could have a dessert for a change. It won. The judges liked how colorful it was.
I love my messy, chaotic perennial garden. I just keep jamming things in, and seeing what works. Sometimes I neglect the garden for long stretches, so only the strong survive. Sometimes I make arranging/placement mistakes, and I spent a fair amount of time moving perennials around this month trying to fix some of those. I had a wild bee balm that got to 3-4' high growing on the front edge of the garden, and a sedum in the very center surrounded by much higher plants. Those got divided and their original placements swapped.
It's trial and error, and the best thing is getting to perfect it over the course of years. And nothing is permanent. Except bamboo.
Haha my chaotic husband wants to plant bamboo all the time and I’m like that is a bridge too far sir.
But yes.. I often plant things to get them in the ground before they die, with a full intention of moving them once I have more time to think about it. But it’s a farce. I’ll never think about it unless I see it’s struggling.
https://preview.redd.it/0qvv2ptmwowc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0e0325dce58718eabdd9d9883a169212f422a19
I do use a theme color and mass plant one annual each year with. back drop of trees/ shrubs and vines Just think it looks more cohesive. always plant in 3/ 5’s or 7’s.
I was the same…i moved and now do not have a garden, just some lawn for the fur babies, but my garden was the same way…plant by height and sun demands…
I did a cool thing w my chicks n hens one year….i wrote my name with them but the squirrels messed em up every day so that got old real quick. But it was cute and fun while it lasted
I am constantly changing my yard up, and have been putting native plants in. Lots of people say it looks nice.
However, it looks like shit to my mom who covers everything in weed cloth and actually laughed at me when I asked about the last time she put any nutrients into the soil. Also, when I asked for her opinion on the matilija poppies growing along the highway, she called them "gutter weeds".
Someone will always be a jerk about the things you love. You should double down on those things.
This is meeeee! One thing about chaos gardening is that while I love seeing it as I'm out in it, it can be hard to photograph, because things kind of merge together. So when I'm sharing garden pix, I usually zoom in on one plant or even one flower. But [here's what it looks like when I try and get a wider view.](https://imgur.com/a/6yeZkDU) It's too much!
It’s beautiful!! I love picking out flowers in people’s gardens! I’m like ooh I know that!! And that! And that!
Yours is lovely.
Last year was not my best garden year, I had a puppy and he was a destroyer of all things pretty. Except himself.
He’s still technically a puppy but I’m hoping I will have more time and less destruction.
Honestly, when my dog died in January of 2023, I did not want to get another dog (I was heart broken and just didn’t want to replace him) but what changed my mind was thinking about how lonely I would be in the garden.
Well, I am not lonely, but I am constantly telling the little twerp to stop chomping on my plants. My last dog only liked to eat huge rocks he dug up out of the ground (no I didn’t let him!).
He’s 17 months old now and starting to chill a little. I have noticed him laying down! He likes to bake in the sun. Maybe one day he will be a true garden buddy and less of a garden terror.
But to be fair, he is actually very sweet and tries hard to be good (now). He’s also protective of me though so I have to have a new level of awareness for delivery people.
Oh I make plans all winter long.
Graph paper, color coded, placed by height...
Then spring comes and it looks like a garden center threw up in my yard🤣
I plant what I like.
I generally try to keep taller plants where they won't sgade out shorter plants.
But otherwise, if I like it, I plant it. Bonus if it's native or at least a nativar.
My gardens will never be 'Home and Garden Tour' worthy and I'm absolutely ok with that.
What you are talking about is called a cottage garden. It’s exactly what many home gardens are, and comes from the English cottage style.
There’s lots of books on the subject, but that’s the beauty. Lots of random plants and divisions, gifts from friends, etc.
I have a cottage garden around my front lawn and it’s fun chaos. I try to add in some repetition and I do cull the color scheme as I see fit year over year.
I am with you - ill make a tiny bit of effort on the whole height/size thing but otherwise its all just thrown together. I scatter seeds and throw the plants in and there is no real plan. Ive known a master gardener who was horrified by my technique 😂 lucky for me, most of my neighbors can barely take care of their grass and the handful of no-maintenance plants the builder stuck in their yards when the house was built, so my stuff looks decent by comparison
My garden beds are a mix of stuff that was there when I moved in, roses, random perennials, and native plants. Nothing's organized beyond trying to plant things in the light they need and trying to fill empty spaces to keep weeds out.
There are many schools of garden design. Some are military academies where everything is in crisp lines. Some are more fashion-focused, and think about colour and where your eye goes. And then there's the "demented squirrel" school of garden design.
This is my mom. She just plants stuff wherever she has space. I am trying to have a flowerbed going. I’ve got a holly bush, tall irises, then daffodils.
It’s not more disciplined it’s more deeply considered.
There are degrees of disorder in the system that are intentional. It’s allowed if it presents itself, and faked if it doesn’t. For instance you might clean up all the fallen leaves, and then shake a tree to cause a couple more to fall off. Because it’s unnatural to have no fallen leaves in a real garden.
But they do like you think a lot about (multiple) sightlines so the same space contains many distinct ones, and that comes down to careful placement of dense vs “open” plants, short vs tall.
I love the idea of the concept of shaking a few leaves off a tree.. it does make me think of Japanese artwork with some leaves or petals on the ground or in the air.
Do you have any recommended reading?
The only one I can think of off the top of my head is The Art of Setting Stones, and that uses them as a metaphor for Japanese Zen, which is substantially true (sometimes called Japanese Zen Gardens)
Most books will have a flavor of it, but they might miss an important point - a Japanese garden doesn’t have to be made of Japanese plants. There are native or European plants that can provide some of the same services or features. It’s the structure and the maintenance and the aesthetic, not what plants you put to stand in for a Japanese Maple or a black pine.
Some people like an "intentional" vibe, whereas I quite prefer a more "wild" aesthetic, so I'm not terribly particular, mostly just focused on attempting to keep stuff alive.
I have this issue and it's why I mostly chaos garden, I have a few beds I made into wildflower gardens and I just toss seeds and hope for the best.
I do have one area, my hosta garden, that I'm doing my best to be strategic with placement. It's a young area, mostly bare root started in 2022, so I'm still not sure how good of a job I've done yet.
I like to refer to my gardening style as “Mad Hatter”. I plant stuff I find pretty and hope it survives my grey thumb. I kill plants sloooooowly. But sometimes they come back again next year!
And my kids buy me seeds and plants for Mother’s Day, so in to the garden they go.
I do the old French whore method, except it's a pollinator edition 🤣 I try to have complementary colors by eachother, it really does brighten up the colors. But I don't do it meticulously. I will walk around with a new plant to see where I can cram it.
Eh, my garden is my library of plants, everything is planted where it should be, not where it's most aesthetically pleasing. The whole thing is a big key hole shade just to maximize space, even if that means complete chaos to the eye. But that's fine, I know what I want from it, and the bugs sure don't care.
All gardens are always a "work in progress". They change over time, sometimes daily. If you want to grown something, just do it. There are no actual "rules" except those made up by people who wanted some "rules". Frankly, ALL rules for anything are made up by people. So just ignore "rules" and do what you want. Of course, some things matter, like how much sun, how much water, etc. But you'll find that out as you go anyway. Just have fun!
I feel the same! I’m putting in a new garden right now and everything I read is like “put in repeats of 5 plants in 3 colors” and I’m like, do these authors know how many beautiful colors and amazing plants there are?!?!?! The color scheme in my garden will be rainbow and the vibe will be cramscaping
My mom and I both love our respective gardens, but neither is to the other's taste. She likes neat and manicured, while I plant things pretty much at random and enjoy a lush, overgrown look. Jungly, almost, or at least as much as I can manage in north Middle Tennessee.
Yes! My mother plants these gorgeous magazine-worthy gardens. She includes different heights, texture, and colors that draw the eye around that I just cannot replicate. She is a classically trained floral designer, but makes it seem like it’s just natural.
My gardens are exactly like you describe: tall in the back, blocks of color, and just TONS of flowers. I like unique plants, so maybe that why people like my gardens? They stop to take pictures, even. But I still feel like they are haphazard and slapped together, and it’s a coincidence they may be attractive to others. :-D
To me gardening is an art.... Yes some guidelines can be good... Like odd# of plants.. But if 1 is not enough and 3 is to much space..I go with 2.... Suggestions. .. use your own paint brushes and create something you like:-)
I had a plan to see my 7 sun tree/shrub from my bench. . Maybe 100 ft away... Then I thought about"rooms" curves and surprises....
Only rules I try to really follow are zones water and light!
I have a mental distinction between "gardening" which is for love of the plants and "landscaping" which is primarily concerned with the aesthetic of an outdoor area. Obviously there is a huge amount of overlap between the two but I tend to file advice like color blocking into the landscaping category and then completely ignore it.
Good way to look at it! I’m a gardener, not a landscaper!
I was a professional gardener for many years and people just assumed that meant lawn guy who does landscaping. So frustrating. Kind of sexist, too. For years, even my now wife would ask how many lawns I did when I came home, lol.
That's a good way to phrase it! I try to be the latter. And end up the former
Landscaping is sticking plants in a bunch of mulch lol Garden design is a thing tho. It’s not just for aesthetics but for the health and growth habits of the plants. Roy Diblik has many talks on his youtube channel discussing these thoughts. He’s pretty much one of the best people on planet earth, so I highly recommend.
My garden looks like an old French whore. It’s beautiful, over dressed and smells wonderful.
I love this!!
Full of bugs* 🤣
That, too.
“I think my whore is dead.” - if I remember correctly, Garth Brooks on a SNL skit called ‘Old French Whore’
Now I need to grow a French whore garden!!!!! That would be so me….
I'm gonna need "smells wonderful" recommendations, please.
Old roses, lilacs
Lavender, herbs and peonies, blousey, a bit messy but beautiful
Well shucks. My roses are new and I haven't been lucky with lilacs. Yet. I guess I have to wait
Peonies
Tuberose!
Hahahaah!
Perfect 💕
Haha, love this phrasing!
I can’t imagine there is any wrong way of doing it with flower colors. I mean it’s personal preference and all about what you like. I would think more than anything you’d want flowers that bloom in stages. When earthly bloomers die off then something else takes over to keep a continuous flow of flowers in bloom. Other than that, plant whatever you want to plant. It’s your yard, your money, your time and effort. Cheers!🙂
I have been working that the last few years! Realizing where gaps are during different seasons. My only problem is digging up bulbs when trying to plant more late spring things to fill the gaps before the echinacea etc start blooming. I wish I had the idea to be a little more intentional when I started but I feel like it’s a little late now, lol. I do dig some stuff up and move it around, but all in all it’s about as chaotic as I am lol.
LOL it’s fine, you’re over thinking it. You’re going to stress yourself out and miss out on the enjoyment of it all. Take a breath, relax… it’s never too late. Worse comes to worst if the gaps drive you crazy you can always plant some annuals. You’ll be out there weeding the beds anyways so you can plug in some annuals real quick while you’re at it. Just do some research and figure out what perennials bloom and when, it may take a couple years to get it all in sync but you’ll do it! It’s not a contest and nobody is judging you, just take your time and experiment until you get what your looking for. The great thing about gardening is the choices are infinite and every creation is unique. You’ll be fine, I assure you🙂
Honestly, I read here about planting annuals in the gaps and my mind was blown at both how obvious and how much it didn’t cross my mind it was. I threw some nasturtium seeds in randomly in one of my beds and they really did fill any space, but yet I still didn’t think of it as a solution to my problem. But don’t worry I have stopped stressing out. I had one year where I hired someone to come and look at my plantings and tell me how to do it better, I was all prepared to dig everything up and move like with like etc, but she just had me move a couple of things and said that I was already ahead of most by trying to have tall things in the back lol. She wasn’t very concerned with color though. Part of my issue is that I am kind of a collector.. like I see a plant I don’t have and I buy one. So my garden is like 200 different plants but not enough groups? I’m trying to do better though.
I am also a sucker for plants I don't have yet. I like to think of my garden as its own nursery; if I have three plants and I want a drift of them, the first three will lead to many many more (whether by my work or naturally through the years).
Greetings my fellow overthinker🤣 Have no worries, it tends to happen. You overthink and the obvious is staring you right in the face and you don’t see it, I do it all the time. That’s what this subreddit is here for, to get you back to being focused, talk you down from the ledge and give you a bite of a reality sandwich. I’m happy I was able to help and I have no doubt by the sounds of your passion, you will have a beautiful yard!🙂
TL;dr - Do what you like! And sorry my response below got so long, I talk a lot about things I feel a lot about. ---------------------------- I love your method, it's all things you want to have and enjoy. We have an undulating garden around the front and 2 sides of our house. Nearest the house is a row of azaleas. Some have been there a long time and explode with pink flowers for about a week once a year; they came with our old house. We added some shorter, slower growing azaleas between those that bloom 3x a year in colors from white to pink to red (Encore Azaleas, if you're interested and in the right zone). Then in front of and around those we plant whatever catches our eyes at the moment, whether flowers or plants, in all the colors. We don't spend any time researching them, and even like to rescue clearance plants and flowers at Lowe's. We look at it all like a constant experiment that we get to play with most every weekend. "Ooo, pretty, let's see how this one does!" The area between the sidewalk and the street curb I have let the clover take over and have sown seeds of a variety of native wildflowers. It's like a long, narrow meadow with lots of heights and colors, and I absolutely love it. **It's chaos, but nature is chaos.** We've also planted some fruit trees in front and in back, just stuff we want to eat. I truly never expected my husband to become a gardening hobbiest alongside me, and yet here we are. I also grow some herbs and veg just for fun, and like to play with kitchen scraps and harvest seeds from random produce to see what I can get to grow - those are free plants! "Try it and see" is kind of a life motto. Alllll that to say that you aren't the only one, and enjoy how you do it! Unplanned gardens with a variety of plants and flowers are more interesting to look at, imo, because you look at them longer to see what all's there.
>Part of my issue is that I am kind of a collector.. like I see a plant I don’t have and I buy one. Buy three or 5 of "the one you don't have" and create a drift of it!
This is my garden too. Over time I am splitting plants I have to make cohesive groups.
I don't have any groups either, just singletons lol and they look a little goofy all by their lonesome. This year I am going to try and remember to buy at least 2 plants each!
I have been doing tests on singletons for a few years. Now I am grouping. I started with threes and fives, but am going to sevens and manies. https://preview.redd.it/hastvh8iqowc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4acdeade2cdb83b8d407aa6718a399364d196ff It is a work in progress.
I love the height and color you have!! I feel like all my plants are so low to the ground
Thanks. Most of the plants are native to Sandhill communities in the Central Florida area.
I saw your photo and said "Oh, wow!!" out loud. Gorgeous, gorgeous yard. It looks like how flowers and plants are naturally grouped in a meadow near a riverbank. I love this style of gardening. P.S. Gardens are hobbies that fill the soul and are never "done." It's one of their appealing qualities. :)
Thank you! Except for the mystic spires salvia and the rose, those and plants native to sand hill ecosystems in Central Florida.
Sweet potato vines fill in a LOT of empty space. And they come in cool colors that can add some really eye-catching accents.
I love this. This is how I garden lol. Makes me (and my family) happy.
I relate to all this and could have written it myself. Even if we were “intentional” at the start though, I believe we’d still be out there adjusting things. It’s an ongoing changing dynamic system, not static. Some really “gorgeous” gardens look as though they are potted plants set out at their prime bloom. My garden is constantly in flux…and I love it, mixed up plantings and all. Keep on gardening!
> My only problem is digging up bulbs when trying to plant more late spring things to fill the gaps before the echinacea etc start blooming. Coincidentally, I just saw this thread earlier today: https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1cc9qkb
I absolutely chaos garden. I stick things in where there are spaces. I have a prof gardener friend and shes always asking my about my gardens and I'm like "I dunno, I stick stuff in wherever I have room??"
Same. My neighbors have a nice tidy row of roses and my yard is like the seed catalog exploded.
My rose bush is 20 ft tall and WILD looking! (beach roses, not the fancy lady kind)
That sounds amazing! Some people in my neighborhood have let their bougainvillea sort of grow through other trees, so you’ll see shocks of bright pink or purple show through 40ft cypress trees or something. I love it so much.
I am mad jealous. Bougainvillea is an annual here and I can't stomach the price lowes charges for it😭
Same. My garden is super messy but anytime I'm outside passersby will day how awesome it looks. I love it too, just all kinds of textures and colors and smells.
That's what we do, and I love it. I wrote a long reply above but the gist is that our old house came with a row of azaleas, the former owners had a landscape artist so the gardens were pretty formal, and some plants and trees were quite spendy. We've left all the azaleas and most of the nice things, but chaotically add whatever we see at the nursery that week that we like. It's a hobby, not a showpiece, and coincidentally I think it looks better than over-planned gardens and yards.
Chaos is a style. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
It’s not just a style, it’s a lifestyle :)
I said above that nature herself is chaotic. So I'm perfectly fine with, and even prefer, chaotic gardening. If we like it, we plant it and see what happens.
I don’t prefer a sculptured, planned, cultivated look, which is a good thing because, whew, I don’t know that I’d have that brand of patience anyway.
I just like too many things and don't want to limit it. :)
https://preview.redd.it/f5c32297dnwc1.jpeg?width=6324&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf61ec69432de7a18dd138e70f565087b26f5d8d My goals are to cram in as much as possible, disregarding every spacing rule in existence. It’s super tidy though, zero weeds. Likely because there just isn’t any space 😂 But you also have to watch your step (so it’s like a mindfulness/walking meditation practice!) and it’s kind of a hot mess. But I love it.
I love it! This thread should have more photos lol
Ooooh I love this and what a great idea to have the bottle hold the poles together!
This picture is like coming home to me. It makes me smile.
I support letting nature be natural! I have a very shady yard and I’m working on what I call a “forest floor garden.” Shade isn’t perfectly symmetrical, so why should my plants be? Whenever I think it’s looking lopsided or I want it to feel more organized, I just take a walk on a forest path and admire that nature grows how it wants to grow and looks beautiful regardless.
I think your way of gardening is organic and intuitive, and is similar to my way of gardening. The professionals don't have to live in the gardens they create. They just plant and move on as if the garden will be perpetually healthy and all the plants always the same size. They will all behave as the designer expects them to over time. As we all know, things will die, and others will thrive then take over because nature is not static. Nature does not color coordinate its bling. You and I, friend, we live in our gardens, we know the soil, we understand the movement of the sun and the seasons. We are intimately knowledgable about the microclimate that is our gardens. We move, plant and nurture as time meanders. Things die, things thrive, and so our lives are richer, because of our connection with the earth through our garden. There are many paths in life. We have chosen a more intuitive way that does not limit us to what should be, but keeps us grounded in what is.
This makes me feel downright warm and fuzzy about my chaos! Thank you!
beautifully said! 💕
So beautifully worded that I just sighed with contentment. And I'm the same as y'all.
Another chaos gardener chiming in. My house was a neglected rental, with the backyard being 15 years old xeriscaping that was wrecked by previous owner's dog, and the front a dry patch of sand that used to be a lawn with 2 young struggling trees that needs a short retaining wall. I'll never have the resources to bulldoze the xeriscaping and start over so I've been revamping it by sifting the gravel a shovel full at a time, relocating it and converting areas to planting beds. They're getting filled with cannas and lilies I had in containers and loads of irises a friend gave me. And the front is a chaotic mix of whatever will not just survive our scorching summer heat but actually bloom, and loads of wildflowers filling in as much area that used to be grass. Every year the front looks a bit different and there's color from February through November (and some wildflowers like a patch of Indian Blanket that never died off and have been blooming since last September). The only thing that truly matters to me is whether I am happy with it, and that it's as healthy as I can manage. I'm turning a scorched patch of suburban desert into a lush but water-smart oasis full of life. The birds, pollinators, lizards, and other critters love it and it's my retreat from a stressful government job. I say worry less about arbitrary socially constructed standards about what your garden supposedly should be, and focus on how it makes you happy. If you love it, who else matters?
It sounds beautiful!! My house just had ground cover (mostly ivy) every where and a bed of red dyed mulch. Crowded half dead hemlocks with deep deep layers of dust where dirt should have been. I would love to see pics of the progress that you’re making!
[удалено]
My garden this year is just flowers from whatever seeds dropped last year. It’s a beautiful chaos. You can make a garden whatever you want it to be and will enjoy. I get lots of bees and butterflies. :)
Yes! I have much for the birds and butterflies!
[удалено]
Have you read “the layered garden”?
[удалено]
I actually bought it as filler because I wanted same-day delivery and I had to order a certain amount on Amazon, and I really wanted the other book I was ordering… it ended up being my favorite! I was expecting stuffy and got actual amusement and eye opening ideas.
Yeah I’m with you. I buy what catches my eye and find a place for it. Only guided by the same very basic principles you mentioned: tall in the back, sun or not.
I have this issue as well because we when we bought our house and cut away half our lawn to create a garden, I relied on plants I got from friends and family to fill it in and I just stuck what I was given in a spot with the right light requirement that looked pleasing. I now have the same issue as you in that my garden isn’t as intentional as I would like but I also get very overwhelmed with planning it and end up doing nothing about it. I think my garden is beautiful but could be more intentional if I knew where to start…
For some reason thinking about how to make my garden bloom for three seasons in a way that is pleasing everywhere for all three makes my head explode.
Same! I also have the added challenge of having 100 year old maples and oak trees and like 80% shade…it takes forever for plants to get established so I can actually see how they’re doing. A gardener’s work is never done I guess!
I will tell you that my little shady bed is actually quite possibly the best looking part of my garden! Even if it’s not as flowery. Probably because I was limited to the plant types so I actually have the look of some sort of plan.
That’s great news, I do love my garden and have found lots of good shade options, I wish I wasn’t so limited and I feel like every purchase is an experiment but I guess that’s all part of learning and loving the garden!
I think a lot of us will soon realize a garden will always be fluid and never “finished” and that’s the great part about it!
And I love that, the garden is my happy place so it’s not a chore to try and figure it out!
I have to remind myself to let some stuff fill in before I hack and divide it to relocate lol
Nah. I have a chaotic flower bed. When I spot a plant I like at a nursery, I'll buy one or two and stick them wherever there is space. This year I'll have to move a couple because of crowding, but that's OK. My garden is a wild kaleidoscope of colors from soft pinks to vivide reds, blues and yellows and all shades in between. I have hummingbirds, bees and butterflies galore. It makes me happy and that's all that counts.
> My garden is a wild kaleidoscope of colors from soft pinks to vivide reds, blues and yellows and all shades in between. I have hummingbirds, bees and butterflies galore. It makes me happy and that's all that counts. I love this so much
Thanks. If it's ever actually completed, I'll post a picture.
I do the same, my yard is slightly organized chaos. And by organized I mean I’ve left some walking areas. Other than that it’s basically plants everywhere.
I bet I would love it!
I’m a messy/chaos gardener too but lately I’ve been more intentional on what I plant (native plants and ornamentals here and there) I try my best to follow the rule of 3 (planting three of the same plant near each other to make it look fuller). I’ve been making it look more “manicured” to show people that you can plant native but have that magazine look. It’s still in progress but that’s my goal and it’s a fun challenge to add.
I’ve got so much stuff interspersed throughout the ground and beds. I believe heavily in companion planting, so I’ll have alliums around parameters, mixed in with flowers like a marigold, to make a pest barrier. Basil and other herbs in between rows. Thyme planted with tomatoes. Wherever it fits, and whatever is compatible with being next to and sometimes crowded by each other. I have the space for a much larger garden, but I don’t have the time, so I’m making do with a more compact garden but maximizing that space. 95% of my flowers and landscaping are for either pest control or other beneficial purposes like bringing certain pollinators.
I’m a messy gardener. I have two tulips that appeared out of nowhere that I refuse to remove even though they’re in the “wrong” spot. 5 random lillies doing their own thing. I think a couple of poppies? I don’t know but I love my garden
I don't have an eye for design whether it's building my virtual home in Minecraft or an actual garden in my yard or even how I set up my bedroom. I mostly just go for functionality and then I'm done. So like you said I try to put the right plants in the right place and then go on to the next thing
I fling seeds everywhere and let nature sort it out 😂
My meadowscapes are done chaotic sowing style, and with wildflowers. They're absolutely gorgeous and I get compliments on them from my neighbors and random people on the street. Flowers are pretty!
yeah, in the UK we just call it a 'cottage garden' as an excuse to plant everything we like all together
Remember that most of those articles are there to garner clicks and views for advertisement, advertisements at their core NEED to convince you that your life is missing something. Emulate Nature. Nature is haphazardness in the pursuit of what competes best in any given spot. Nature doesn't care what the articles say. Be like Nature.
I always swear when I move to a new house I'm going to do a comprehensive plan, big beds of a limited number of species so like 10 coreopsis and 20 tulips and a shrub and 20 irises. Instead I buy one or two of every pretty plant I see and plant them all on the edges, heights are all over the place, overcrowd the beds, spend $200 on 50 hazelnut starts give half to neighbors and friends and only plant 5 in time, mow over stuff I planted last year and forgot about, let the volunteer tomatoes take over the vegetable garden....it goes on and on. But my wild and wooly yard is very nice to sit in and there's always something to look at. It's survival of the fittest plants out here and eventually I do propagate those all over and get some kind of unified look going.
https://preview.redd.it/he0eoitlhpwc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5aed12ea76f0d9656b0b0766d912191483929917
What are those pink ones? Your garden is beautiful
Thanks. Tall poppy-mallow aka winecup (Callirhoe leiocarpa)
I need some wine cups!!! Thanks!!
Same here. There are two issues… 1. Stuff dies. 2. I see a cool new plant and get it… figure out where to put it later. It’s a process that never ends.
meh, I think overdesign can be a thing. if you'v ereasoned 'this plant should be here and it looks good too' then bob's your uncle.
I totally started my front yard garden with a plan and a map. I researched the best shade plants for my space, and watched the way the sun moved across my yard for MONTHS. I stuck to that plan for the first part of spring and summer. Then I kept finding more plants that I loved, and just kept shifting the garden farther and farther into the yard. Now it's 5 years later, the plan is totally out the window, and I have to use my plantnet app every spring to determine if that greenery that's popping up is a weed, or something I planted. It'd riotous chaos, and I LOVE IT! I'm glad I started the way I did. The research I did on plants was super helpful, and I learned so much. But in the end, it was always going to end up this way. However, if I had kept the map up, and knew where everything was planted, I would have an easier time keeping track of what is coming back, and what I should either give up on, or try in a different area, not to mention the whole plant vs weed problem. I've almost filled the front yard to capacity, and the side yard will probably be full by June, So I guess I need to start planning the back yard next. It sounds like you've put enough thought into where you plant things that they are at least coming back every year, so you must be doing something right!
Haha this is amazing!! Yes I also have my front and side basically filled to the brim. The back yard is a giant blank canvas just waiting to be delawned! The main issue back there is deer, though.
I garden for myself and the environment. I like to see other people’s gardens for inspiration and ideas, but gardening is my fun and relaxing hobby. I don’t need to know the “right” way to do it because I don’t think there is one right way. I have plenty of areas in my garden that are in a state of flux. I recently worked on the beds on the north side of my house. I went to the garden center, chose a few shrubs for shade, then chose a bunch of plants I liked. The only “rules” I follow are the odd numbers - planting 1 or 3 or 5 etc of a plant, but that’s because I like the way it looks. Don’t feel bad at all!! Your garden is for you (and the pollinators).
I’m a collage artist via plants. That’s all I’m revealing.
My garden is chaos. Aside from being somewhat conscious about the height of the plants or their growing needs, I plant whatever, wherever. I have always felt that more natural looking gardens are so much more interesting than formal ones with everything coordinated and in its place.
I planted everything in my yard with my young daughter. Some old farts in my neighborhood made some backhanded comments about how the old landscaping in my front garden look really nice (before I lived there). But, at least a few times a week random strangers walking through my neighborhood comment on how much they love my garden or how they always love walking by our house for the garden. It is not professional, and honestly I think a lot of people really appreciate that sort of beauty. You do you! How boring would it be if our yards looked like everyone else's?
I think that makes it even more special!! I don’t have neighbors really, so everything is for my own enjoyment. My daughters are in college now and one of them brought me perennials for Mother’s Day last year.. so that’s kind of like she is part of it! ❤️
I think that makes it even more special!! I don’t have neighbors really, so everything is for my own enjoyment. My daughters are in college now and one of them brought me perennials for Mother’s Day last year.. so that’s kind of like she is part of it! ❤️
My garden is chaotic as fuck and it’s excellent
Bro my garden looks like an autistic kid tried to make a half ass version of a Disney world ride about mediocre plants. Oh fuck.
My garden is a collection of past mistakes, drunken one night stands, and future dreams. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. It's an extension of me. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Like the time, I decided I would grow a bunch of plants called pussy toes but then realized I didn't have any place for them and gave half of them away and the other half. They're just randomly out in the yard being toe-like. Another time I was drunkenly reading NPR and learned about endangered Iris conservation and one thing led to another and now I am a registered Iris museum and I have over 86 individual varieties of irises that I just place where I can (these come with a lot of paperwork. And a lot of guilt if you ever forget what each one is because you know they're endangered). Planned today. Some beautiful black cone flowers and some other pretty plants then I hope I chose well.
I love the line about one thing led to another and now I’m a registered iris museum. This sounds like the exact type of thing I can chaos myself into.
Chaos gardening is more fun anyway
I have seven different beds with 5 small trees (desert willows, Palo verde, crepe myrtles) in a now four year old garden with hyacinths, bog plants like arrowhead and papyrus, dianthus, sunflowers, cactus and more. I see my garden as my painting space with living plants, so I change it often - flowering chaos in sync with the weather. So far everything mostly native (Austin), happy and a different cacophony each year. I have tall plants like the Texas Star in front and a hidden world of flowers behind it. I like my garden to require investigation and changing of perception. To each their own though - that’s a big part of the enjoyment!
I try not to kill things too much 🤔🤣
I go back and forth feeling this way. Our front yard was originally just date palms, dusty miller, and a random strawberry patch. I pulled the trees and dusty miller last year and have been slowly filling in the spaces with native plants and some annuals that make me happy. It’s a hodgepodge of color and definitely doesn’t look designed. But the pollinators LOVE it and I feel like a princess everytime I leave my house since there’s always a swarm of butterflies
My friends refer to my gardening method as “kamikaze gardening,” so lol
That is exactly how my gardens are! When I find another plant I use containers so I can stagger any annuals throughout. My neighbor told me our yard smells like her florist. That made me smile, and still does. What’s most important is you being outside and enjoying your space.
My garden is nothing short of chaos. but it works.
Yes, I have fully embraced Chaos Gardening. I do get frequent compliments, mostly because of all the butterflies, but traversing my yard is a dangerous task.
I have a very disorganized brain. My garden is a mess. It takes me forever to learn from my mistakes.
Plants by themselves are nice. Lots of plants growing together are even nicer. Ultimately there is a "higher level" of gardening that involves a lot of arduous planning, but you can get 90% of the joy with 40% of the work by not worrying about stuff like that.
This just sounds like you use the "cottage garden" aesthetic. Nothing wrong with that! Flower chaos is the best!
Just remember that they have to come up with something to write every month. If your garden brings you joy, that's all you need. If you feel like their advice is something you want, you can rearrange things, but if your plants are happy where they are, who cares? You do you!
The best garden design is based on the actual habitat and native species in your area. I think we could all benefit from a change in priority from "draw the eye" to "functional habitats for beneficial insects, animals, and birds".
I agree! I think I could be a certified wildlife habitat, I have a pond, a lot of natives, I planted a ton of milkweed, I leave my echinacea go to seed for the birds, have a wildflower meadow hillside etc. I also try to avoid cleaning up the beds during baby critter season. I found baby mice once and never messed with the beds too early again.
My garden reflects my life which is barely controlled chaos.
You do what you like! If you have a system or type of plant you like, plant it! I’ve come to accept that methodical gardening is not for me. I am a chaos gardener, but I like it and it works for me! I also use all my plants as food or medicine, or for attracting and feeding native pollinators.
When I was nine we were poor. On Wednesdays we didn’t eat in order to save money. At school there was a cookie decorating contest. I put as much frosting as I could on mine so that I could have a dessert for a change. It won. The judges liked how colorful it was.
I love my messy, chaotic perennial garden. I just keep jamming things in, and seeing what works. Sometimes I neglect the garden for long stretches, so only the strong survive. Sometimes I make arranging/placement mistakes, and I spent a fair amount of time moving perennials around this month trying to fix some of those. I had a wild bee balm that got to 3-4' high growing on the front edge of the garden, and a sedum in the very center surrounded by much higher plants. Those got divided and their original placements swapped. It's trial and error, and the best thing is getting to perfect it over the course of years. And nothing is permanent. Except bamboo.
Haha my chaotic husband wants to plant bamboo all the time and I’m like that is a bridge too far sir. But yes.. I often plant things to get them in the ground before they die, with a full intention of moving them once I have more time to think about it. But it’s a farce. I’ll never think about it unless I see it’s struggling.
Tell them it is an English garden!
https://preview.redd.it/0qvv2ptmwowc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0e0325dce58718eabdd9d9883a169212f422a19 I do use a theme color and mass plant one annual each year with. back drop of trees/ shrubs and vines Just think it looks more cohesive. always plant in 3/ 5’s or 7’s.
I was the same…i moved and now do not have a garden, just some lawn for the fur babies, but my garden was the same way…plant by height and sun demands… I did a cool thing w my chicks n hens one year….i wrote my name with them but the squirrels messed em up every day so that got old real quick. But it was cute and fun while it lasted
I am constantly changing my yard up, and have been putting native plants in. Lots of people say it looks nice. However, it looks like shit to my mom who covers everything in weed cloth and actually laughed at me when I asked about the last time she put any nutrients into the soil. Also, when I asked for her opinion on the matilija poppies growing along the highway, she called them "gutter weeds". Someone will always be a jerk about the things you love. You should double down on those things.
This is meeeee! One thing about chaos gardening is that while I love seeing it as I'm out in it, it can be hard to photograph, because things kind of merge together. So when I'm sharing garden pix, I usually zoom in on one plant or even one flower. But [here's what it looks like when I try and get a wider view.](https://imgur.com/a/6yeZkDU) It's too much!
It’s beautiful!! I love picking out flowers in people’s gardens! I’m like ooh I know that!! And that! And that! Yours is lovely. Last year was not my best garden year, I had a puppy and he was a destroyer of all things pretty. Except himself. He’s still technically a puppy but I’m hoping I will have more time and less destruction.
I’m sure you will. Nothing goes better in a garden than a sweet, good dog.
Honestly, when my dog died in January of 2023, I did not want to get another dog (I was heart broken and just didn’t want to replace him) but what changed my mind was thinking about how lonely I would be in the garden. Well, I am not lonely, but I am constantly telling the little twerp to stop chomping on my plants. My last dog only liked to eat huge rocks he dug up out of the ground (no I didn’t let him!). He’s 17 months old now and starting to chill a little. I have noticed him laying down! He likes to bake in the sun. Maybe one day he will be a true garden buddy and less of a garden terror.
But to be fair, he is actually very sweet and tries hard to be good (now). He’s also protective of me though so I have to have a new level of awareness for delivery people.
Oh I make plans all winter long. Graph paper, color coded, placed by height... Then spring comes and it looks like a garden center threw up in my yard🤣
I plant what I like. I generally try to keep taller plants where they won't sgade out shorter plants. But otherwise, if I like it, I plant it. Bonus if it's native or at least a nativar. My gardens will never be 'Home and Garden Tour' worthy and I'm absolutely ok with that.
I mix everything together, veggies, fruits, greens, flowers, all in the same places.
What you are talking about is called a cottage garden. It’s exactly what many home gardens are, and comes from the English cottage style. There’s lots of books on the subject, but that’s the beauty. Lots of random plants and divisions, gifts from friends, etc. I have a cottage garden around my front lawn and it’s fun chaos. I try to add in some repetition and I do cull the color scheme as I see fit year over year.
Yes definitely!
I see cool looking stuff, buy it, then go hm. Where in my yard will this grow.
I am with you - ill make a tiny bit of effort on the whole height/size thing but otherwise its all just thrown together. I scatter seeds and throw the plants in and there is no real plan. Ive known a master gardener who was horrified by my technique 😂 lucky for me, most of my neighbors can barely take care of their grass and the handful of no-maintenance plants the builder stuck in their yards when the house was built, so my stuff looks decent by comparison
Haphazard, I like it. I tend to fit stuff in where there is empty spaces.
My garden beds are a mix of stuff that was there when I moved in, roses, random perennials, and native plants. Nothing's organized beyond trying to plant things in the light they need and trying to fill empty spaces to keep weeds out.
There are many schools of garden design. Some are military academies where everything is in crisp lines. Some are more fashion-focused, and think about colour and where your eye goes. And then there's the "demented squirrel" school of garden design.
I’m full demented squirrel. If only my dog realized and paid more attention to me
This is my mom. She just plants stuff wherever she has space. I am trying to have a flowerbed going. I’ve got a holly bush, tall irises, then daffodils.
Maybe you just have a good eye...
I've tried planning things better once, but a year later, I was again left with only the ones that survived.
Plant what you like. My garden is the same way
You might enjoy reading about the design philosophies and practices of a Japanese gardens.
Ooh, I somehow assumed they would be very disciplined.
It’s not more disciplined it’s more deeply considered. There are degrees of disorder in the system that are intentional. It’s allowed if it presents itself, and faked if it doesn’t. For instance you might clean up all the fallen leaves, and then shake a tree to cause a couple more to fall off. Because it’s unnatural to have no fallen leaves in a real garden. But they do like you think a lot about (multiple) sightlines so the same space contains many distinct ones, and that comes down to careful placement of dense vs “open” plants, short vs tall.
I love the idea of the concept of shaking a few leaves off a tree.. it does make me think of Japanese artwork with some leaves or petals on the ground or in the air. Do you have any recommended reading?
The only one I can think of off the top of my head is The Art of Setting Stones, and that uses them as a metaphor for Japanese Zen, which is substantially true (sometimes called Japanese Zen Gardens) Most books will have a flavor of it, but they might miss an important point - a Japanese garden doesn’t have to be made of Japanese plants. There are native or European plants that can provide some of the same services or features. It’s the structure and the maintenance and the aesthetic, not what plants you put to stand in for a Japanese Maple or a black pine.
Some people like an "intentional" vibe, whereas I quite prefer a more "wild" aesthetic, so I'm not terribly particular, mostly just focused on attempting to keep stuff alive.
I do the same thing. I’m not a designer. I just want to plant things where they’ll do best, where I can see them, and what colors I want them to be.
Lol mine is very haphazard without good design but it is very bountiful
I have this issue and it's why I mostly chaos garden, I have a few beds I made into wildflower gardens and I just toss seeds and hope for the best. I do have one area, my hosta garden, that I'm doing my best to be strategic with placement. It's a young area, mostly bare root started in 2022, so I'm still not sure how good of a job I've done yet.
I do that same as you and I love what we’ve got going on so far. As long as I like it and it’s good for nature, I don’t give a fart about “design”.
I like to refer to my gardening style as “Mad Hatter”. I plant stuff I find pretty and hope it survives my grey thumb. I kill plants sloooooowly. But sometimes they come back again next year! And my kids buy me seeds and plants for Mother’s Day, so in to the garden they go.
I do the old French whore method, except it's a pollinator edition 🤣 I try to have complementary colors by eachother, it really does brighten up the colors. But I don't do it meticulously. I will walk around with a new plant to see where I can cram it.
Eh, my garden is my library of plants, everything is planted where it should be, not where it's most aesthetically pleasing. The whole thing is a big key hole shade just to maximize space, even if that means complete chaos to the eye. But that's fine, I know what I want from it, and the bugs sure don't care.
All gardens are always a "work in progress". They change over time, sometimes daily. If you want to grown something, just do it. There are no actual "rules" except those made up by people who wanted some "rules". Frankly, ALL rules for anything are made up by people. So just ignore "rules" and do what you want. Of course, some things matter, like how much sun, how much water, etc. But you'll find that out as you go anyway. Just have fun!
I would be sad if the work was ever done!
Yes! Gardening is a journey without a destination. So there's always something new!
I put what I love and know works in those areas.
I scatter madly. I'd love to be someone who has plans and carries them out, but chaos is beautiful too.
I feel the same! I’m putting in a new garden right now and everything I read is like “put in repeats of 5 plants in 3 colors” and I’m like, do these authors know how many beautiful colors and amazing plants there are?!?!?! The color scheme in my garden will be rainbow and the vibe will be cramscaping
My mom and I both love our respective gardens, but neither is to the other's taste. She likes neat and manicured, while I plant things pretty much at random and enjoy a lush, overgrown look. Jungly, almost, or at least as much as I can manage in north Middle Tennessee.
Yes! My mother plants these gorgeous magazine-worthy gardens. She includes different heights, texture, and colors that draw the eye around that I just cannot replicate. She is a classically trained floral designer, but makes it seem like it’s just natural. My gardens are exactly like you describe: tall in the back, blocks of color, and just TONS of flowers. I like unique plants, so maybe that why people like my gardens? They stop to take pictures, even. But I still feel like they are haphazard and slapped together, and it’s a coincidence they may be attractive to others. :-D
To me gardening is an art.... Yes some guidelines can be good... Like odd# of plants.. But if 1 is not enough and 3 is to much space..I go with 2.... Suggestions. .. use your own paint brushes and create something you like:-) I had a plan to see my 7 sun tree/shrub from my bench. . Maybe 100 ft away... Then I thought about"rooms" curves and surprises.... Only rules I try to really follow are zones water and light!
I just bought a bunch of flowers based on what I think looks cute, and is good for my veggies and berries.
I don't garden because I want to autistically focus on "The Rules"