Flowers ?

[svh]

I'm looking to grow some flowers come spring, and being I'm a complete newb at flowers, I could use some suggestions for some chicken friendly blooms. I've grown tons of vegetables, but never any flowers, besides marigolds as companion plants.

I had an awesome veggi garden grown in 6 straw bales this year, and have already acquired 20 bales for the upcoming season, in which I plan to plant a few bales with purty stuff ! I don't know, maybe it'll draw some of the ladies in the community up to chat !

I'm in zone 6a, I want to start from seed, I have everything from full sun, to full shade and everything in between.

I know its a broad ask, but any input is welcome.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Strawberries? Chickens love them (you might too), and I'm sure they're easy to grow in straw bales. Starting from seed might be a problem—I've never tried it, with strawberries—but bare-roots are not expensive, and they're easy to propagate from runners.

EDT: Some strawberry varieties have quite attractive flowers. I bought some plants at Lowes last year (Somehow, I managed to get them for less than a dollar apiece) with bright pink double-blossoms. They're pretty tasty, too.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

https://104homestead.com/chicken-safe-plants/
This is a list of chicken safe flowers and plants that might help. Keep in mind that if your chickens are allowed in the garden they will eat anything they find tasty especially seedlings.

Edit. Zinnias and sunflowers are both good choices and easy to grow from seed.

 

[svh]

Thank you

https://104homestead.com/chicken-safe-plants/
This is a list of chicken safe flowers and plants that might help. Keep in mind that if your chickens are allowed in the garden they will eat anything they find tasty especially seedlings.

Edit. Zinnias and sunflowers are both good choices and easy to grow from seed.

Thank you very much ! This is just the info I was looking for.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some chicken Layer feeds add marigold petals to help color the yolks darker. I grew marigolds in my garden in Arkansas, not as a companion plant but just because I think they are pretty. Especially in the fall after the garden is done they make bright mounds of color. After the winter kills them I feed toss the whole dead plants in the chicken run, the egg yolks get noticeably darker from them eating the dried seeds.

You can see some zinnias in there too, in the background.

 

[vpatt]

I'm wanting to plant a few flowers and I wonder if anyone can recommend a company that sells organic seeds. Organic may not be the right word. But seeds that are just plain seeds and haven't been treated with anything. I used to buy a few seeds from Seeds of Change....But I'm not having much luck with their website. Some things link over to Amazon and some don't go anywhere.