Nearly a month ago I sewed Beatrix a new pair of play pants in this cute waffle weave print.
One afternoon she and our other kids were all playing in the backyard and I of course joined them (as did my camera.)
That evening, as I looked through my photos, I realized that far more interesting than writing about another pair of pants, I should talk about our lawn.
When we bought our house eight years ago, the mown part of the lawn was a (mostly) grass, weeds, and clover mixture.
Over the years, any time there has been a sparse or bare spot we have sown white dutch clover rather than grass.
I would say that our lawn is about 75% clover in most areas now.
We are also sowing white dutch clover in all the pathways between our raised garden beds because while it doesn’t stand up as well to foot traffic as grass does, it is far better for the soil and the environment.
I am going to give you a list of reasons why you might consider a clover lawn yourself (if you and your children don’t have a bee allergy!), but my kids will tell you that one of the best reasons is old fashioned clover chain necklaces.
Making these necklaces is something I remember doing so much when I was a child, so of course I taught my kids to make them as well.
Those two don’t appreciate my picture taking at all!
As for the reasons for planting white dutch clover that my kids aren’t quite old enough to appreciate, here is a quick rundown:
White dutch clover only grows to about eight inches tall and then stops, so you don’t have to mow as often as you would grass.
Clover sends roots more deeply into the soil than grass, making it a good soil aerator, and making it drought tolerant as well.
In addition, clover fixes nitrogen from the air, so rather than requiring fertilizer, it actually improves your soil!
Clover’s blossoms attract honeybees and other beneficial insects.
Clover chokes out the competition eliminating the need for nasty herbicides and it is also nearly completely pest free.
Less mowing, less watering, no fertilizer, no herbicides = good for the earth.
Oh, and clover seed is pretty cheap too!
When dogs tinkle on your clover it doesn’t make a yellow patch!
(I took most of these photos about a month ago, before sweet Maggie was killed.)
And while white dutch clover blossoms are not the showiest little flowers,
they smell so sweet! On summer evenings the air is full of their fragrance.
So for all these reasons, clover makes us happy.
Hi. Loved your clover post. We are building a new home in an older neighbourhood of Barrie, Ontario CAN. We will soon be ordering sod but I am wondering if we should just plant white dutch clover. Will it stand up to two boys at ages 9 and 6?
I found your blog randomly and wanted to thank you for sharing your story with me. We recently purchased our first home in Rockwall Tx over a month ago and noticed that our front yard was one of the only yards during the winter that was still green. Once we took a closer look we noticed it was full of clover! At first we thought we would have to redo our lawn but then we realized that clover has an incredible amount of advantags, most all of which you mentioned.
I must say, it is a fantastic ‘weed’. 🙂 We decided to purchase a 1lb bag of seed and spread it all over our front and back lawns. Just today, I found lots of little seedlings poping up all around. I can’t wait until the summer and the many years to come to enjoy our clover lawn.
Again, thanks for sharing and take care!
Erik