The problem is, the wildflower look seems to dominate around here. The combination of big appetites with a lot of land, no budget for staff and nature's strong hand coalesce to produce just a wee bit of chaos. My long time maintenance gardener mind struggles.
There is no denying the beauty though. Maybe my maintenance gardener mind is the problem.
There is one place on this mountain with order, sorta. In the vegetable garden explicit permission to grow is required. I did not however plant all those sunflowers. They came up on their own. They did manage to come up on the edge of the rows in a nice line, though they are randomly scattered among the rows. I let them stay. They have a low chaos value
Outside the mulched confines of the vegetable garden it is another matter.
Yes the daylilies were all planted. What goes on between them is the lightly edited chaos.
Chaos laps at the edges of order and together the effect is quite stunning.
In landscape design, this concept could be thought of as the cultivated garden merging naturally into the wild setting. The annual nature of the vegetable garden lends itself to that in some respects.
The peppers plants are the biggest I have seen them for the end of June It has been steadily warm for us this year. In the past they waited until mid-July to do anything.
The melon department is looking nice. Will this be the year I get a full sized cantaloupe? There are still 60 days ahead of potential warmth.
Doesn't it all look tidy?
But I can't help but smile at the exuberant chaos that surrounds it all.
And without much thought I fling seeds in the hopes of adding more to the mix. I am the son of the resident gardeners after all.
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7 comments:
The veggie garden is indeed very neat and tidy. Every time you mention chaos I think of Miriam Oslers book "A Gentle Plea for Chaos". Have you read that? I think it might ease your Maintenance Gardener's Mind.
"Exuberant chaos"; I love it. I believe that a garden should match its site, and your semi-wild mountain site to me calls out for organized chaos. A highly organized garden in such a site would look out of place to my eye, at least. I love your chaos. You can have order inside your cozy cabin. (:
bev
Lisa I looked that book up and I think it would be good for me to read.
Bev even the Biltmore leads you through miles of forest and natural looking plantings before you get to the formal gardens around the house. I'm thinking strong control and tidyness in a naturalistic planting can begin at the cabin and fade away rather quickly.
Wow! I think it is very tidy and lovely with all that color all around the tidiness. Your garden is really incredible!
That is a very impressive vegetable garden. I hope you do get a melon. My melons are doing well, too, and I hope to harvest a few well before frost!
Siria the roadside vegetable garden is the star of the show right now.
Carol I hope this is the year of the melon too and I saw your baby WUT. No sign of mine yet. Must be something in that Indiana soil.
Your garden sings triumphantly.
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