What Is Chaos Gardening And Why You Should Give It A Try In Your Garden

There's a lot to think about when gardening. You have to consider the space each plant needs, what other greenery they grow best with, when and where to plant, and so on. For experienced gardeners, this may not require much thought at all. However, for those looking to get into planting, or who don't have as much time to invest in their plants as they want to, chaos gardening offers a middle ground.

With chaos gardening, you don't have to meticulously plan everything out or spend hours digging holes in rows and planting seeds. All you need are a few seeds, a little knowledge about the plants those seeds turn into, and a few minutes of your day to get them set up.

Use whatever you have lying around, and plant where your heart desires. Don't worry about making it look pretty and perfect. Finding out how your garden all comes together is part of the fun!

So what is the chaos gardening method? As the name suggests, it's planting rather chaotically. There are several ways to do it, but the overall premise is that you take several different kinds of seeds, and plant them in the same area by sprinkling the seeds into a wide but shallow hole, or just on the top of the soil.

Making your own chaos garden is growing in popularity, but it's not necessarily a new trend. It's pretty common with wildflowers and native plants. In fact, if you want to see what chaos gardening will look like in your yard but you don't know where to get started, mixed wildflower or pollinator seeds use this same premise. You open the packet, shake them around, soak them into the soil, and wait a while. Eventually, various flowers will start growing together.

Though it's chaos gardening, there is a little bit of a method. You do need to consider seeds that are good for the season you're planting in, your zone, and the amount of sunlight the area gets. If you want to be more successful with your chaos garden, you may also want to consider working with plants that don't compete much for space or resources. For example, blueberries and raspberries don't belong together in your garden and shouldn't be included together when using the chaos method.

With chaos gardening, you can plant anything anywhere you want. While flowers are some of the easiest plants, you can use herbs and vegetables, and even shrubby fruits. Annuals, perennials and everything in between are also acceptable. Chaos gardening works in beds, pots, and your yard, as long as you pick the right seeds.

You don't have to go and specifically buy seeds to chaos garden either, especially if you're in the habit of planting every year. It's a great method to use for extras from previous years. For example, if you planted a row of lettuce one year, and now you don't have enough to do a full row, throw them in a mix with other seeds and spread them around. Older seeds that you've never gotten around to planting and ones that are unlabeled are also great to throw into the mix. Or, if you deal with a lot of pests, you can create a mix full of natural deterrents, such as keeping skunks at bay by adding a certain vegetable to your garden. 

One of the best benefits of chaos gardening is that it doesn't have to be the sole method you use. If there are specific plants you want an abundance of — say, tomatoes, for example, you can find the best time of year to plant tomatoes in your garden and set them in rows or beds like normal. When they're established, then you can sprinkle a few seeds around them and see what sticks.