Landscaping and Plantings for a Free Range Flock

[lazy gardener]

I need more too!


I also need some weeping willow and those hydrangeas and snowball thingies.

I'll have plenty of snow ball thingies for you soon. It's supposed to get down to 28* tonight.

 

[islandgirl82]

Posting to subscribe. Loving this thread.

 

[memphis]

Ralphie...honestly it wasnt too bad! Its still so warm down here I wasnt prepared to clear frost off the car! I'm just happy those mosquitoes were gone!

I did love seeing all the different conifers. Most of which won't grow here.

So I got my rye & wheat planted! Trying to find some barley. Hoping things grow....trying to provide winter munchies for the girls!!

 

[memphis]

Welcome Islandgirl!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Welcome island Girl. I'm glad you are enjoying the thread.

Memphis glad you got back to your Southern home. You forgot one thing though here in the cold....



Me!

I want to sit on a porch with a lapper and some sweet tea in Tennessee.
Lol.

Yeah. It's cold here. And there's no sunlight left in the day. I hate that. I think we lost 20 minutes of daylight last week alone...?

 

[memphis]

Bogtown...your welcome anytime! By the way...you ought to consider a lapper in your climate. They will keep you cozy, and they make great handwarmers! I stick my hands under Daisy's wings....best things ever!

 

[islandgirl82]

Thank you Bogtown and Memphis.

In addition so several of the plants pictured and listed, some other plants in my gardens that my flock leaves alone or has a difficult time distrupting are hyssop, dwarf lilies, peonies, bachelor's buttons, lungwart, larkspur, moss roses, black-eyed susans, Echinacea, phlox, wood betony (lamb's ears), chrysanthemums, sunchokes and surprisingly, as delicate as they are, bleeding hearts. All these plants are low maintenance and though some need the roots protected initially, mainly the peonies, the chickens leave them all alone. I used to worry about the ants needed by the peonies but by the time the buds develop, they're too tall for the chickens to either see them, or want to bother. Clematis is another whose roots need protecting but once they're established, they do well, though I lose the lowest blooms to the flock. They're also fast growers/climbers that can offer shelter.

I have a few dappled willows around; fast growing shrubs that they love taking cover under and irises and day lilies are as indestructible as plants can get. I also love the mock orange, another fast growing shrub that smells AMAZING and they leave the blooms alone on those as well.

Also, just to add to the delights of pumpkins...the seeds are a natural wormer.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Bogtown...your welcome anytime! By the way...you ought to consider a lapper in your climate. They will keep you cozy, and they make great handwarmers! I stick my hands under Daisy's wings....best things ever!

Oh those 'Under the Wing' parts....Very soft and warm.
Thank you Memphis, love your southern invite.

Thank you Bogtown and Memphis.

In addition so some of the plants pictured and listed, some other plants in my gardens that my flock leaves alone or has a difficult time distrupting are hyssop, dwarf lilies, peonies, bachelor's buttons, lungwart, larkspur, moss roses, black-eyed susans, Echinacea, phlox, wood betony (lamb's ears), chrysanthemums, sunchokes and surprisingly, as delicate as they are, bleeding hearts. All these plants are low maintenance and though some need the roots protected initially, mainly the peonies, the chickens leave them all alone. I used to worry about the ants needed by the peonies but by the time the buds develop, they're too tall for the chickens to either see them, or want to bother. Clematis is another whose roots need protecting but once they're established, they do well, though I lose the lowest blooms to the flock. They're also fast growers/climbers that can offer shelter.

I have a few dappled willows around; fast growing shrubs that they love taking cover under and irises and day lilies are as indestructible as plants can get. I also love the mock orange, another fast growing shrub that smells AMAZING and they leave the blooms alone on those as well.

Also, just to add to the delights of pumpkins...the seeds are a natural wormer.

Getting plants a chance to get going is the trick...isn't it? I found a clever way to get things like bleeding heart and peonie some time. Lop off 3-5 willow switches from the woods or road ditch. trim them off so you have 3 foot lengths or so and bend them in a 'U' and form a cage around the fragile sprouting plant.


Photo courtesy of Sandy Cleveland from Garden Gate blog.

I came across this photo on Pinterest one day. And it was a pivotal moment in the garden. AHA! It can be done. Chickens and Plants! It has helped me problem solve starting other plants with different cage like contraptions and such. So I can keep tomatoes on the deck for example. It is an extra step in gardening. But I know you all enjoy your chickens and they are lovely to see in the garden. So there are some solutions to have the best of both worlds.


I tried Bachelor Buttons this year with the chickens and they are on my seed packet list every spring now. They are extremely tolerant and resilient to a step or two. They pick themselves right back up and dust themselves off. And the blue color....well it's one of my favorite colors ever.

 

[islandgirl82]

I never ended up covering my bleeding hearts. They were transplants from someone else's shade garden and I thought I'd give them a try in an area where I couldn't get anything else to grow. The chickens have never bothered with them but I did have trouble with my 180lb Newfoundland who decided they made a nice bed in the shade. Despite spending their first year here being squashed by him, they're now taking over that flower bed save for some peonies and an Annabelle hydrangea and now I need to thin them out a bit.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

My guess too is that the taller peonie and annabelle is providing a bit of a buffer for that bleeding heart.

This year my transplanted bleeding heart had 3 young pullets take it down. These girls were new to our set up at the time and right out the coop door, they'd pick and strip it down. LOL. Right there to the Right of Hattie there is or was... a bleeding heart.


Most of the chickens leave the coop and don't look back until roost time. Not young-newly transplanted pullets- who count on the coop for cover or until they are ready to make the leaps out in to the wild wide open.

Notice how I "LOL'ed" this scenario. I'm doing my best to 'let it go' with chickens.

Was I pleased that the bleeding heart which was just starting to bloom ended up stripped down. Heck no. But It has roots and rhizomes that I hope are spreading and I hope are going to be an even bigger plant. And now since these 3 do now go out...we'll have a bigger and better, less harrassed plant.

Edited to add: There are lessons always learned with chickens and plantings, geography of the plantings. But never give up and throw in the towel.