Written, illustrated, and published by volunteers of the FOA as a benefit to members, this newsletter contains a wealth of information. I once designed a garden for some friends, and we surprised each other with our reactions. Since my husband is an engineer, we have always laid our gardens out with straight lines. I'm not sure where the American need for squares and rectangles originated, maybe with Thomas Jefferson and his desire to put order on the landscape. Farmers used to compete to see who could plow the straightest row, whether it was uphill or not.
Most vegetable gardens are neat rectangles with straight regimented rows.
Nature seldom does things in straight lines. You will see hemlocks in a row because they originated ona nurse log, but there are few other instances like this. When designing a yard, or even part of a yard, I frequently think of lake shores for patterns and rivers for paths. I look at spaces and views. There are views to protect or create and views to block.