Chaos Gardening: A Celebration of Abundance

Chaos gardening first made an appearance on TikTok in 2023, and has even gone on to grace the holy grail of gardening events, the Chelsea Flower Show.

I'll admit I had not been aware of it until a friend sent me a link to an article about it, but I totally pledge allegiance to the idea that gardening need not be so complicated. I also adamantly believe that many people — especially those just starting their growing journey — are intimidated by overly prescriptive advice and inflexible gardening ‘rules’.

The thought of gardening should make you want to get your hands in the soil, not send you spiralling into a Google rabbit hole about correct planting matrices and the precise Latin name for a plant you think you might have just killed. Growing, experimenting and finding joy in being in the garden is always my aim, not rote learning or the following of rigid planting schemes.

What actually is it?

So what is chaos gardening? At its heart, chaos gardening is exactly what it sounds like — a more relaxed, abundant, throw-it-and-see approach to what you grow and where you grow it. Perhaps more simply, it is a celebration of abundance. How serendipitous that it is also the lazy way to garden.

In chaos gardening, there are no rules about what you grow — it can be cut flowers, it can include food. It doesn't have to be natives, or exotics, or a meadow. It can be some of these, or all of them. That's what I love about it. You can plant the things you love, not what some on-trend garden designer (or Instagram) is telling you you 'should'.

Does chaos gardening mean doing nothing at all? Not really. I do garden the lazy way. I own that without shame or hesitation. But chaos gardening reframes laziness not as neglect, but as a philosophy. More focus on growing. Less on interference. A gentle hand on the weeding edit rather than a white-knuckled grip on the hoe.

The case for a bit of chaos

And there's good news on the subject of weeds too. Weeds are opportunist, and bare ground is a standing invitation. Overplanting - filling your beds densely with a glorious, chaotic mix - covers that soil and crowds out the weedy competition. Less weeding, not because you've given up, but because you've outmanoeuvred them. Hooray!

Growing lots of different things all at once also means you very quickly work out what works - what grows and what fails - in your particular conditions. So much better than giving over a whole bed (and growing season) to one flower, vegetable or herb only to find out it thinks your garden is about as welcoming as your great aunt's good room with the plastic-covered lounges. With chaos gardening, what thrives, thrives. What doesn't, doesn't. You've lost nothing but a few seeds.

Yes, it will be messy. Gloriously, unapologetically messy. And how liberating to be able to say - 'oh that? I'm chaos gardening.'

The unexpected bonus

Beyond the laziness - and I cannot stress enough how appealing I find the laziness - chaos gardening turns out to be genuinely good for your general garden ecosystem. Mixed, abundant planting is better for biodiversity and better for pollinators - and pollinators bring birds. Natural pest control, without even trying. My own very weedy patch has proven this to me in the most satisfying way. Fairy wrens on pest control in the sweet pea patch? I'll take that.

And if you needed any further justification, this is where chaos gardening diverges from the 'I simply cannot be bothered' school of gardening and becomes something with actual purpose behind it. You are still growing intentionally. You're still making choices about what seeds go in.

The chaos is in the management, not the setup.

Think of it less as abandoning the garden and more as loosening your grip on it.

Who is it for?

Frankly everyone. But especially if you are new to growing, especially if the volume of gardening content online has ever made you feel like you're doing it wrong, and especially if you've ever talked yourself out of starting because the conditions weren't quite right or you didn't know enough yet — chaos gardening is your permission slip.

Pick some seeds you love the look of. Scatter them with enthusiasm. See what happens.

So chaos gardening? I'm in.