Heres a secret: Gardening isnt about plants.
If a crop fails, it can feel like personal failure.
Chaos gardening suggests that you just start sticking plants into empty spaces and see what happens.
First, some plants coexist better than others.
For instance, fennel does not enjoy the company of other plants.
Brassicas prefer to stick together, as do nightshades.
Sweet alyssum and flowering dill benefit the vegetables around them.
If theres an eggplant, plant the cabbage somewhere else.
Thats the thing: Plants are excellent at finding the right spot for themselves.
Chaos gardening creates less vulnerable plants
By spreading plants out across the garden you eliminate monocultures.
In fact, spreading the plants out is better for soil health and plant health.
But if you interplant, they can benefit each other.
Through chaos gardening the landscape takes on a much more interesting texture of different colors and heights and patterns.
If something dies, tear it out and plant something else, doesnt matter what it is.
Perennial echinacea mixes with annual zinnias and bulbs of every height and texture.
Asparagus and artichokes mix with 16-foot sunflowers and free growing foxgloves and tulips.
When the cabbage is done, I yank it out and plant something else thats around.
Each empty space is just an opportunity to grow something new.
Ultimately, its important to remember that gardening, while addictive, is supposed to be relaxing.
While formal gardens with clean lines and obvious themes are beautiful, entire teams are required to maintain them.
