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HI, I'm probably the wrong guy to ask about this subject.. I don't have much of a green thumb but I will share my experiences.
My Chickens have pretty much eaten, or tore up what I planted around the immediate area outside of their run.
I tried planting lavender and ended up with broken plants and little chicken craters on either side of most of my plantings where they like to dust bathe. They loved the taste of the black eyed suzans, those went first! Oh and the Hostas, ya they love picking at the Hostas too.
I had a volunteer mint plant that came up in the small beds.. they didn't eat it but for some reason they didn't want it anywhere near their home. When I let them out they scratched and pecked and just pulled it apart! I wrapped it with wire for protection. That worked for awhile but they were very persistent.
They don't seem to bother with boxwood hedges. The rosemary has come back nicely.. They didn't eat it, just trampled and broke them down when they were first planted. The Clematis seemed to fair pretty well too, but I've had the bases wrapped with hardware cloth.
I don't think you would be able to plant anything inside their run unless it was well established, the base was protected and it would have to be something that grew up over their heads.
I planted 50-60 "campanula serbian bellflowers" plants as a boarder around the front of our house, they were thriving and looked gorgeous until the chickens stumbled upon them one day!
They absolutely love it!
Another bush, shrub or ground cover I planted that they don't seem to mess with is the "Arctostaphylos uva-ursi point reyes manzanita" and " Arctostaphylos densiflora Howard McMinn Manzanita" They do scratch around them but havent' caused any damage that I've noticed. I plan on planting more of both around the outside of the run this spring.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.. and please post your success's as I'm sure there are a lot of chicken owners that would be very interested.
Oh, and welcome to BYC!!
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