In my experience edges impose themselves even when you don’t want them to, and so does diversity! I have a large-ish garden, the bones of which were set eons ago by my mother. Definitely more rectangular than I might wish, but I find it hard to change things because a) it’s been the same for so long it’s kind of bossy b) moving soil and perennials etc is hard work as a single woman with a spade and pitchfork and I’m lazy, and c) years ago I put in a bunch of asparagus in a big honking row right down the middle! Also, long-lived blueberries and various perennial flowers and herbs have gotten comfortable and intertwined in rectangle-imposing places…
However, over time the rows have begun to meander of their own accord and different beds have softened at the edges with milkweed and daisies urgently volunteering. So maybe I can just let the edges develop themselves?
Is anyone else growing on an older property with its own stodgy ideas about what goes where? If so, how hard do you work to rearrange things?
