If you take to casual gardening for reasons of economy, scarcity of help or even from preference, you will find it’s an intriguing game to grow an assortment of plants which can pretty much take care of themselves – plants you like and ones that enjoy your climate and exposure.
In every West Coast climate there are many plants which grow readily and with little care. Why not try mixing them to create a naturalistic planting – with an occasional nudge from you? Start by sowing seeds of say, 15 varieties to a plot 20 feet square. An irregular shape is nicer.
By the second year your ground will be well filled with plants-on-the-loose, especially if there are happy-go-lucky annuals among them. The weed problem need not be a burden for the selfsows. By this time you will have some idea of what you want the patch to look like and what you want of it. You will be stepping about in it, pulling out a volunteer here and planting in its place some other upstart, turning a spade full of earth there and sowing a few experimental seeds, encouraging this inhabitant, squelching that one.
The Haphazard Garden
It is obvious that this haphazard garden will look right only in an unconventional setting and that no hired help can be turned loose in the miscellany. How would anyone know what you want removed and want left?
I use a good many small bulbs in my contented gallimaufry – all from seed sown in situ. Freesias are especially valuable and sow themselves like mad. Snowflakes (leticojum) increase too fast. Linaria maroccana is a splendid annual. Gazanias and aretotis are satisfactory perennials.
by R Lester
