I think sometimes that’s very true. Sometimes we use “the beauty of nature” to cover for our lack of effort. To me, some of the most creative gardens are those which the observer can tell there was a “designed” intervention which complements, or perhaps highlights nature. That said, I still won’t recant my love of clean straight lines.
I’m not sure if you saw my original post in this thread, but here is a quote from it:
“…as a person who loves the clean look of an orchard with freshly mulched circles around the trees and nice short grass in the areas between them…bla bla”.
So it will come as no surprise that I really love the look of your orchard. Some might see its simple or even “easy” (a positive, to me) but I genuinely do really like the clean look at has. Some famous artists are known for their clean/basic/simple style. Former Michelin judges who rate restaurants and chefs say the number one mistake most chefs make is trying to be too complicated by using too many ingredients. The best chefs let the main dish speak for itself by using few ingredients to complicate its flavor. I think that can be applied to orchard’s like ours. When I look at your photo I see fruit trees as the focus and main star of the show. When they are in bloom or filled with ripe fruit, everything I just said is multiplied by 10! Anyway, just wanted to say I like what you’ve done, right down to the bee hives (which I also have!!) It sounds lke @ltilton and @Olpea probably agree, and even Naomi now says she likes our style, even though it is exactly what she said was ugly in her original post.
BTW…I darn sure hope everyone knows that I’m just saying what I personally like and am certainly not suggesting than ANYONE has “cluttered” or overly complicated their garden. Several of your garden’s take my breath away and look like the cover of a garden/orchard magazine. If I had the time and energy, focus, time, and money along with the ability to imagine and design such a garden, I might feel different. But for me personally, I just like these clean, simple designs FOR ME.
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Ben- Great looking garden/orchard that is also along my style of liking, but everything I need to know about your orchard is laying right there in that table in front of your great looking family. WOW! Way to go!
I am not sure guys, if you see it or not, but as soon the thread starts to slip toward positive sharing discussion, the post originator throws in a new bait to bark about. I think the author is enjoying the muddy water he/she creates and we are all swimming in now. Is it it time just get out of the swamp?
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Personally I think the best approach to the latest post from her is to take it in the best possible light. We are getting some good conversation and sensational photos in this thread.
Marcus
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I agree, I’m sorry it ruffled my feathers so much. It’s now a great thread.
I’m guilty of it myself! No matter how natural you say your garden is, show me one in nature that looks like your natural garden? Not possible as even the most natural looking gardens have man’s touch all over it. When i read an article about saving heirlooms the author mentions how remnants of home gardens remained after 50 years of no care in dead towns. Even after 50 years with no people, one can tell man did this. Nothing about any garden is natural.
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Old spellings include graff, graffe, graife, greffe.
grapht is a made up word.
Scott, I think the problem is that sarcasm does not translate well in plain text. I’m well aware that grapht is not a word. 
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Thanks Kevin! But I can’t take credit for the folks in the photo, they’re our good friends and neighbors who were sharing in the harvest.
I haven’t been reading this forum for long but I’m impressed by the cheerful and constructive community - even if/when it’s being trolled! Perhaps someone with more history here could reboot this thread as something like “Backyard orchard preferences - ‘natural’ or ‘formal’?”
Ben
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I thought all words were made up? In 2010 some guy took a picture of his fat lip and called it a selfie. Pretty sure he made that up? Grapht is a very nice editor/data analysis program for computer code documents.
“grapht” would be a nice past tense form of “to graft”
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This is a side subject, but exstant languages are constantly changing. People constantly modify existing words to apply to new situations. In addition the meaning of existing words change as well. While your dictionary may not go out of date as quick as a medical text book, it does go out of date and begins the process of doing so before it is published. God bless.
Marcus
Here are the kind of orchards I like -
New Zealand - http://wearewildness.com/permaculture-food-forest-documentary/
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The food forest idea is quite amazing. Just the idea of a community orchard is a stretch for folks in Statesboro. The idea of a food forest is a very interesting idea. As with a place like Australia, an issue in the SEUSA would be poisonous snakes. God bless.
Marcus
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4-5 feet.
Sorry, but I had to revive and comment on this thread.
The ugly AZ yards part made me LMAO.
I have neighbors come by and offer/want to mow my land. They believe it looks better without the color the annual vegetation provides in abundance.
I delicately try to explain how their properties are almost dead and don’t sequester carbon for the soil critters, but they don’t get it. They don’t understand how the “weeds” protect and shade the soil. Many of us who are trying to create systems using Permaculture hear about how untidy our “gardens” are lol. Just try to create a food forest in a residential neighborhood and you might be targeted by the Permaculture police.
I hope we can eventually get over this cultural malfunction and embrace the beauty and productivity of natural systems one day. Humans working with nature is a winning team. Fighting with nature is going to cost us.
One more thing. People tend to mix politics with Permaculture and Organics. Please don’t do that. Trust me, the major players won’t fit the the stereotype lol.
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That’s the kind of neighbors that I like! Quiet as can be 
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Yeah, well it better stay like that or I am out of here.
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