Hens, chocolate eggs: Easter in the Garden

Hens, Chocolate Eggs, Chocolate Flowers…

Easter weekend is traditionally the start of the gardening season, but for many people its chocolate eggs rather than the scented flower Chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos astrosanguineus) that loom large in the mind and stomach.

Why the link between Easter and spring festival and eggs? Because eggs are a sign of re-birth in many religions. And keeping hens was, of course, a common practise for hundreds of years both in the country and in town.

Although hens have always been found in rural communities, keeping a small number of chickens has become more common again in suburban and urban gardens.

Hens – Garden Pest Controllers

Hens are a very useful creature to keep; not only do they provide eggs (no potentially noisy cockerel needed for that) but they’re also a source of rich manure and a mobile pest control unit. As part of an overall productive unit, that is to say your garden or allotment, hens can be almost indispensable.

If they are allowed to roam free during the summer they may well cause some damage to your ornamental flowers and your crops. But given the licence to scratch around after harvest and during the autumn and winter, hens will dig up pests, larvae, grubs that would otherwise damage your plants in the following spring. They can still be contained in a run, just move the run around.

Hens – Compost Cuisine

Chicken manure is very rich in nitrogen, and needs to be composted for six- twelve months. This is because it might otherwise ‘burn’ the plants it came into contact with.

If you use wood shavings in the run and hen house then you already have a head start on the composting process. Store it in a separate bin to your other compost, making sure it is kept damp, but not wet. Any vegetable peelings etc that you may have put in the run for the hens to eat can be thrown in too.

Why Keep Hens in Your Garden?

I am very fond of chickens and have kept Bantams, Leghorns and even ex-battery hens, among other breeds. I’ve raised chicks and even tried to out-crow my Rhode Island cockerel (and failed!)

You don’t need to be a permaculture advocate to see the benefits of hen keeping. As omnivores, ie eaters of a range of plants and animals for food, chickens love leftovers. They can potentially eat seven pounds of kitchen leftovers in a month. Although this will depend on the size or breed of your hen; a Bantam is a small breed and obviously won’t eat as much.

Urban and suburban hen keeping could be one way to reduce our landfill problem, improve the soil and increase local food production. A a means of bio-recycling. For example, if two thousand households each had three hens, there is the potential for some 225 tons annually to be diverted from landfill to a more productive use.

No Room for Hens in Your Garden?

You haven’t the room in your garden to keep hens for fresh eggs? You could still have an Easter egg hunt in the garden this weekend with real (hard boiled) eggs or chocolate ones. We like to design fun gardens for children with hidden areas and tree houses at Plews; we’ve even been known to test them out…

Happy Easter from Marie, Nathan and all the Plews Team

For more on hens, garden design and gardening tips, why not purchase and download our eBook “In Your Spring Garden” available directly from Plews website?

And contact us if you’d like a magical “Easter egg hunt” garden designed for your children.