By JoAnne Skelly — I just read an online article in Veranda about “Chaos Gardening.” The title made me think of my yard. In fact, my brother once said my gardening style was “organized chaos.” And he was right.
The article defined this oddly titled style as mixing random seeds in a jar, then spreading them out and waiting to see what comes up and where. I have to admit that it is definitely more chaotic than my style, which is to let flowers I know re-seed and then appreciate their proliferation.
On the other hand, I have also let unknown seedlings grow to see what they might be. Sometimes that works, as in the case of the very welcome black-eyed Susans that have taken over my flower beds. However, years ago I also let an herb-like plant grow, burr chervil it ended up being, with an emphasis on the burr part. It took me years to get rid of it. Talk about chaos.
Chaos gardening, according to the article, appeals because of its similarity to the historical cottage style with informal layouts of mixed flowers, vegetables and herbs. It’s a case of serendipitous natural beauty over a formal design.
Once you have mixed the seeds of your choice and spread them around, you sit back and watch nature take its course. If you like surprises, this is the landscape design style for you.
As my brother observed, my yard is chaotic, but there is definitely organization as well. I weed, dead-head, prune and mow. I use spray misters instead of drip emitters to allow seeds to grow throughout the flower beds or to allow the dragon’s blood sedum, bishop’s weed, snow-in-summer, or hardy geranium to spread wherever they put down seed.
I also have a lovely display of wildflowers, such as lupine, sulfur-flowered buckwheat, evening primrose, Palmer’s and Rocky Mountain penstemons, and yarrow growing in an area that gets overspray from the lawn. I allow violets, thyme and clover in the lawn. The oregano started from one plant my friend Peggy gave me years ago and I have joyfully watched it spread all over as she warned me it would. The showy milkweed seeds I spread last year are coming up nicely.
I embrace chaos because the butterflies, bees, and birds thrive when things aren’t constrained by formality. To me, that’s more important than pruning things into little green meatballs. Ordered chaos for me!
— JoAnne Skelly is Associate Professor & Extension Educator, Emerita at University of Nevada Cooperative Extension skellyj@unr.edu.
