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

[K0k0shka]

Consider placing containers of flowers in that area. Advantage with containers,,,,,,,, you can rotate them into more sunny spots for short duration.

Ooh that's a great idea!

I have planted Black Eyed Susans in between the little HC squares. I used a little poker to dig out thru the HC, to make a bit of a bigger hole underneath & just stuck a tiny little bit of leaf with root & believe it or not - it's growing. Stuff grows like a weed once established. It grows in shade too, not as well, but it does. Just an idea if you have any anywhere.

I was just looking at Black Eyed Susans as something that might work in that area. I don't have any, but they seem to grow easily from seed, so I could get seeds and sow them straight in the ground next spring. I can pair them with something short for a nice layer effect.

What about hosta, Vinca, and coleus?

Unfortunately they need to be started indoors in my hardiness zone, and then I won't be able to transplant them because the hardware cloth will be in the way. So I need something that can be sown from seed straight into the ground.

 

[3KillerBs]

Don't go with containers. They'd defeat the purpose of the anti-dig apron because predators would dig at the edge of the container and get under the wire instead of digging at the edge of the wall and hitting wire.

 

[K0k0shka]

Don't go with containers. They'd defeat the purpose of the anti-dig apron because predators would dig at the edge of the container and get under the wire instead of digging at the edge of the wall and hitting wire.

In that walkway where I want plants, the apron goes all the way to my raised garden on the left (just out of frame in the picture) and up the cinder blocks of the garden, so there would be no way for anything to find an edge to dig under. My initial excitement at the idea of pots is waning quickly though, as I realized that I'd have to water anything in a container, and I don't want the extra chore. So now I'm looking for hardy things that can be okay just existing there without much attention. Oh and they have to be rabbit resistant, because my property is heavily populated with persistent wild rabbits

 

[Tonyroo]

Hosta plants are perennial tubers they need a hard freeze to come back year after year. Vince and coleus are annual in your zone. So yes those can be sown indoors or sown in the dirt of your run in the fall.

Most annual and perennial seeds can be direct sown in the fall. The seeds will know when conditions are right to sprout from the ground.

The area you choose should have 3 hours minimum of direct sunlight.

 

[Tonyroo]

There's also some herb seeds that are decorative.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Sweet alyssum. It's a beautiful ground cover flowering plant. Edible (as in non-toxic; member of the brassica family), and can grown in very dry, poor soil conditions.

 

[Tonyroo]

Sweet alyssum. It's a beautiful ground cover flowering plant. Edible (as in non-toxic; member of the brassica family), and can grown in very dry, poor soil conditions.

That plant can definitely reseed itself which makes it hassle free, but need some sun.

 

[K0k0shka]

That plant can definitely reseed itself which makes it hassle free, but need some sun.

I don't think I'd have enough sun for that... The area gets *some* morning sun, and then nothing for the rest of the day.

 

[K0k0shka]

Hosta plants are perennial tubers they need a hard freeze to come back year after year. Vince and coleus are annual in your zone. So yes those can be sown indoors or sown in the dirt of your run in the fall.

Most annual and perennial seeds can be direct sown in the fall. The seeds will know when conditions are right to sprout from the ground.

The area you choose should have 3 hours minimum of direct sunlight.

I'd love to put some hostas there, but am having a hard time finding seeds or information on whether and how I can sow directly in the ground. I already have a couple varieties of hosta in my yard, but because of the dense hardware cloth along the ground by the run, I can't dig there to stick a tuber in, or even to plant a seedling started indoors, so I'd need to direct sow in the ground. Do you think direct sowing after last frost would work?

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I don't think I'd have enough sun for that... The area gets *some* morning sun, and then nothing for the rest of the day.

It also doesn’t need much sun. I plant mine where it gets about 4-6 hours a day, I don’t water it, and it thrives through our six week drought this year. It also survived a lot of abuse from the chickens