Mr. Cannon’s chaos garden sounds like what I have suggested to my wife more than once as a “Darwin garden”. Just mix a lot of seeds, strew them broadcast, water when you happen to think of it, and see what happens.
We garden the regular way each year.
I first saw this article when it was posted on a plant-breeding forum I’m on. Some of the people there use that approach when developing new varieties. Mix together seeds they know will cross, plant them en masse, and see what shakes out.
If you ever see the word “landrace” in a variety name, that’s basically what it means. Some people have had remarkable success with that technique, particularly when it comes to adapting plants to less-than-ideal conditions.