What pretty border plants can I plant over the HC apron?

[K0k0shka]

Marigolds. They're an annual and you can find them pretty much anywhere in season - even the grocery store. To get the bed started, plant fresh plants every year for two or three years. Don't disturb the whole bed when you replant, just dig enough for each, single plant. You don't have to deadhead, but it generally helps establish the bed more quickly. Only pinch off fully developed seedheads and drop them directly into the soil. You should have a self-replenishing bounty of edible flowers - for you and your chickens - within a season or two.

Thanks, but I can't dig because there's hardware cloth along the ground. I need something I can direct sow in the ground. I have marigolds in other parts of the property and love them, but they don't self-seed where I live (it's too cold) and I have to start them indoors every spring, which is more work than what I want to put into this chicken border. Also, if I planted marigolds by the chicken run, I'd never see them bloom. The chicken run is at the back of my property with lots of shrubbery around, and there are a lot of wild rabbits that live there. I tried planting marigolds in that area twice before, and they got destroyed both times. Chewed down to the ground! I thought marigolds were rabbit resistant, because of the strong smell, but I guess they're not. Now I can only grow them along the sidewalk in front of the house, where the rabbits never go because it's too close to the foot and car traffic.

 

[K0k0shka]

Update: the seeds for that pretty hosta that I ordered online turned out to be a scam Definitely not hosta seeds, and unlabelled so I have no idea what they are. At least I got a refund. So now I'm back to square one, and decided to try cushion spurge. Looks pretty, seems to fit my requirements, and has milky sap in its stems and leaves so rabbits tend to leave it alone (the area where I want to plant is wild rabbit kingdom). Let's hope this works...

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Update: the seeds for that pretty hosta that I ordered online turned out to be a scam Definitely not hosta seeds, and unlabelled so I have no idea what they are. At least I got a refund. So now I'm back to square one, and decided to try cushion spurge. Looks pretty, seems to fit my requirements, and has milky sap in its stems and leaves so rabbits tend to leave it alone (the area where I want to plant is wild rabbit kingdom). Let's hope this works...

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I have this plant (was a gift from a friend years ago before I really gardened) and I will warn you that this plant is a contact irritant. The sap is also. It’s toxic bu not sure for chickens but for humans- don’t eat it or have bare skin. It does get big and bushy- I divide it every couple years and give away.

 

[cavemanrich]

I divide it every couple years and give away.

To friends or enemies


Just kidding,, Thanks for the updated info. I have many plants that are toxic to humans , and chickens,,, but only if ingested. Nothing contact irritant,, with exception of my roses.. well the thorns at least.

 

[K0k0shka]

I have this plant (was a gift from a friend years ago before I really gardened) and I will warn you that this plant is a contact irritant. The sap is also. It’s toxic bu not sure for chickens but for humans- don’t eat it or have bare skin. It does get big and bushy- I divide it every couple years and give away.

Yeah I read about that, and was actually hoping to use it to my advantage - apparently the irritant part is what keeps the rabbits away. Everything I plant gets eaten by rabbits, so one of my requirements for the plants that go in that spot was to be rabbit-proof. I won't touch it without gloves and will warn the kids, too. The chickens won't be able to reach it through the hardware cloth. We already grow stinging nettles (for soup! ) so we're used to being careful around some plants. After me and the kids got into some poison ivy a couple of years ago, no other contact irritant can scare us. That thing is evil!

 

[addctd2plnts]

Thank you! Zinnias and cosmos would be great, but they like sun... Would they bloom in the shade? I have dill and zinnias elsewhere on my property and the zinnias are 5 feet tall in full sun, they'll probably stretch even taller in the shade (if they bloom at all). Though I could probably try a dwarf variety. Do you think dwarf zinnias would bloom only with morning sun?

Zinnias and Cosmos were my first thoughts, till I went back and read it only gets morning sun. I know you can't loosen the soil under the apron, but you can add compost over the apron to give an easier bed for plants to get started in. After I re-read your sun conditions, several things came to mind. New Guinea Impatients, (but they are annuals) are stunning and don't need as much sun. And there's a plant I have on the North side of my house in a massive rock garden that I adore. The name is Corydalis Lutea ( https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=y840 ). It's a marvelous airy plant with bluish tinged folliage, that gets clear yellow blooms on it. I've heard it's not easy to start from seed, but once you have it, it keeps itself going. If it gets into an area you don't want it in, it's super easy to remove because the stems break and it won't come back once pulled (Can you tell I've planted a nasty invasive plant before? LOL) The bloom might peeter out in the hottest part of the summer if they aren't watered, but it will be back as soon as temps moderate. It blooms much more than its relative, a blue blooming corydalis. And the yellow is more pleasing than the more gold version. It would also look awesome flanking a center area of Begonias!

 

[addctd2plnts]

Shade plants, for the most part, are going to require watering, to continue looking good and blooming, and the pots was a MARVELOUS idea! Pots can be used to add height, color, and interest in an area, especially if they are grouped. And you can re-arrange them if you want a new look. Watering that small area or a few pots, doesn't take long. The larger the pot, the easier the watering is. And you can add a Tablespoon of soil moist to the potted plant soil, to help retain moisture. Pots are also super easy to make STUNNING! If one plant isn't doing well you can remove it in 1 seconds and substitute in another fresh pant for a totally new look!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I was going to suggest creeping thyme or mint - both grow well from seed, and are good at working around things, as well as relatively winter hearty once established - but I'm not sure you get enough sun.

 

[MadGardener]

I have a 1/2" HC apron along the ground all around my run and coop, extending out about a foot and a half. Naturally, there's nothing living along the ground inside the run, but the outside edge of it, where the apron is, has some interesting weeds that have managed to grow through it. I like having greenery there and want to plant something deliberate next year. What would you guys recommend? Obviously I can't plant seedlings or started plants because I can't dig there, and I can't prepare the soil either, so it has to be something that grows easily from seed and doesn't mind crappy conditions. The area gets morning sun, but is in shade for most of the day. Bonus points if it can flower! Any ideas? I was thinking impatiens but they are tricky to grow from seed... forget-me-nots may not like that I can't loosen the soil... The soil isn't compacted, because nobody walks right along the edge, it just can't specifically be loosened or amended because of the HC.

Here's a picture of my setup. I want to plant along the long side of the run, where all the green stuff currently is. Whatever that broad-leafed plant is in the corner, I know it's perennial and forms thick tubers that it comes back from, so it can stay, because I like how it looks. I want a border of something else between it and the coop.
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Coral bells, foam flower, or their hybrid hucherella offers colored foliage plus flowers in shade. Not sure what hardiness zone they'll handle but mine come back in zone 6.

Ostrich fern would give you spring fiddleheads. Yum!

 

[MROO]

Try lemon balm. It'll grow almost anywhere, self propagates and keeps mosquitoes and flies down. As an added bonus, you can dry it and add it to your nest boxes to keep mites at bay.