“Chaos Gardening” Is the Effortless Gardening Trend to Try This Spring — Here’s How to Start

Gardening tends to have a lot of rules. There’s all sorts of advice you’re bombarded with upon first plotting out your plans — how far apart to space your plants, what the soil pH should be, how much sunlight your greenies need. Needless to say, it can be nice to stumble upon a planting method that feels a bit more approachable and allows for some entry-level experimentation. 

Enter chaos gardening. Designed to cater to the lazier green thumbs, the concept is pretty straightforward: Simply grab a handful of mixed wildflower seeds you know will thrive in your area and toss. Yes, you really can physically toss them — the idea is that these easy-to-grow seeds will thrive with very little effort, so you don’t need to worry about perfecting your soil or even laboring over which spot in your yard to choose. You’ll need to keep the soil moist until the seeds begin to germinate, but beyond that, you’ll have little work to do on your garden before it erupts in stunning, colorful blooms. 

Chaos gardening is easy enough to achieve on your own, but new offerings from two of my favorite seed companies — Ferry-Morse and American Meadows — make it even more of a foolproof process. Starting this season, both brands are selling premade wildflower bundles that are perfect for any green thumb looking to try their hand at chaos gardening. 

If an English cottage-inspired garden is your goal, Ferry-Morse has just the thing, with over 20 bulk wildflower seed mixes that’ll add color and charm to any garden. Each 1-pound bag combines a wide variety of easy-to-grow wildflowers (think poppies, cornflowers, daisies, sweet allysum, and more) and boasts a whopping 530,000 to 570,000 seeds, allowing you to add beauty to your raised beds, pots, and more. Even better, each collection has features that cater to different needs. While all are good for pollinators, some boast deer resistance, while others are the optimal choice for drier climates. 

Looking to rep your home state? American Meadows recently launched state-specific wildflower seed mixes this season so you can chaos garden with a bit of hometown pride. 43 of the 50 states are represented, accounting for nine of the USDA hardiness zones, so you’re sure to find something that suits your environment perfectly.

East Coasters that call Maine home can look forward to watching Blue Boy Cornflower and Red Poppies float in the breeze come June, while West Coast gardeners from Washington can enjoy more rugged picks, like Mountain Phlox and Lupine. Each collection is curated to represent and thrive in its designated state, taking the guesswork out of planting the perfect mix.