Our garden today is only grass. I like to rebuild it step by step. What plants suits good in a garden used daily by rabbits?

Points to have in mind: plants do not harm the rabbits, rabbits do not harm the decorative plants, (faster growing than could be eaten) plants that give good/healthy food for rabbits.

I live in eastern Europe, but all ideas are welcome!


One idea is to dedicate an area where you let any weeds grow that naturally grow when there is no grass and no lawn mower. Even if the summer is as dry as the last one, you should see many different weeds and herbs grow there.

Have a look at this list of different herbs that are very healthy for rabbits and even have medical properties.

Some of them don't grow naturally in Europe, but many, like fennel, lemon balm, marigold, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme are common garden herbs that grow well in european climate.

Others like chickweed, cleavers / bedstraw, coltsfoot, dandelion, goldenrod, milk thistle, nettles and plantain / ribwort are natural occuring weeds that many people spend a lot of time removing from their garden beds.

Leafy greens and green vegetables are also good for your bunnies (scroll down for a long list of suggestions).

There is also a list of toxic plants for rabbits, most of them are also known to be poisonous for humans. It's worth to have a printout of it nearby because you might get the idea of feeding some garden waste like potato peels, rhubarb leaves or tomato leaves to them. There are also some unexpected plants among them that you might overlook when they grow wildly in your garden, like bindweed, fools parsley or poppies.

If there is a meadow nearby, you can go there and plug a few handfulls of whatever grows there. A varied diet of many diverse herbs is the best you can offer your rabbits. The worst diet on the other hand, is a carrot and store-bought iceberg lettuce every single day.

Another part of the question was which plants you could have as decoration that the rabbits won't eat.

I honestly doubt that your rabbits would leave any low, green plant alone. If you want something like tulips or similar flowers in your garden (note that tulips grow from bulbs and are therefore toxic to rabbits), you need to surround them with a wire fence.

A better alternative would be bushes or trees. I know from wild rabbits in Berlin that they love any kind of bushes as shelter and hideout. Keep in mind, that evergreens are also toxic, so better stick to leaf bushes. Personally I would choose a plant that is non-toxic and slow-growing, because in a few years, you might have to dig out most of it if it grew too much. Bamboo (a slow-growing variety) and rosehip seem to be suited bushes. Although many fruits like apples, peas, gooseberry, currant, rasberry and blackberry are not toxic, I wouldn't give rabbits free access to them because the fruits have too many calories.

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  • Thank you for this, but I do not only want to know, which plants are good for rabbits to eat. Additional I like to know which plants are resistant against rabbits (for decoration), which plants are good environment for rabbits (for example hides) and so on. Maybe you could add some? – Allerleirauh Apr 20 at 16:32

Some good things to grow for your rabbits would be;

  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Lettuce
  • Cilantro
  • Dill
  • Parsley
  • Mint

My mom was growing some dill at one point and my rabbit loved it, same with celery, but all bunnies can be different. Try growing some of your rabbit(s)'s favorite snacks!

Edit: also, I have a feeling you are going to have a hard(er) time finding some plants that grow faster than your buns can eat them, they just eat so fast!

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  • I have a rabbit fence - not around the rabbits but instead around my herbs... if not they would not have any chance to grow. Do you have ideas for the other points? For example decorative plants which the rabbits have no interest in? – Allerleirauh Apr 20 at 16:34
  • @Allerleirauh I don't think you will be able to find any plant that your rabbits won't be interested in even just taking a little nibble from, so if you want a decorative plant of any kind, you should keep it away from your bun. So in this case, try picking out a plant that looks nice to you, because there probably won't be any plants that your bunnies won't nibble at, just make sure to keep it in a place your bunnies can't get to! – Astronomize Apr 20 at 19:56
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    before I moved to another country I had a garden with many different plants, decorative too. My rabbits do not eat them. If they have enough suiting food, they are not hungry enough to risk their health by eating not full fitting plants. – Allerleirauh Apr 21 at 18:56

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