Why Not a Clover Lawn? (flowers, fertilizer, grass, butterflies)
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No reason not to. Plenty of reasons to, less water, no chemicals or fertilizer needed, less costly. Where I live in NJ water is very expensive. Watering a lawn would cost me a few hundred dollars a month extra. So whatever grows without water is welcome. I have grass, crab grass, clover, heather, dandelions, weeds. At a certain point in the summer I get a large growth of mushrooms all over the lawn. The only thing I do is keep it cut.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ersatz
Over the past two years, white clover has invaded my front lawn. Popular Media tells me that clover is a nasty invasive weed. I researched "What To Do About Clover" and found that local lawn services advise I am required to spend a lot of money to rip out my lawn, resod, and pay even more money to professionally and regularly apply various herbicides and fertilizers and, oh yeah, install a sprinkler system.
But, I noticed that bees and butterflies love that clover. I regularly mow so the clover stays less than 2 inches tall. It stays green even when the rest of the lawn starts dying off due to lack of regular irrigation. I further researched pros and cons and found this article: https://dengarden.com/gardening/Clover-Lawns.
I don't see the listed negatives as negatives
I am not allergic to bees.
I have not designated my front lawn as a practice field for local sports teams.
I do not make a habit of ecstatically writhing around in my front yard in dry-clean-only clothing. (I have my moments, never mind about them)
So, I think I am just going to give up on turf and just let that clover grow as much as it pleases. Any reasons why I shouldn't?
Only reason not to in my mind is if you're in some HOA that deems them weeds that must be controlled. For they will easily spread to a neighbor's yard.
Clover is a leaf, not a grass blade so it doesn't belong in a lawn. But if that's what you want, then who cares what other people think. If you don't have a "lawn" then clover might just fit right in.
My neighbor has Ivy growing everywhere, another thing that doesn't belong in the landscape. Invasive
Only reason not to in my mind is if you're in some HOA that deems them weeds that must be controlled. For they will easily spread to a neighbor's yard.
That kept me out of one 55+ place we visited. If you didn't weed your flower bed (or pay someone to do it) they fined you $25.
Clover is a leaf, not a grass blade so it doesn't belong in a lawn. But if that's what you want, then who cares what other people think. If you don't have a "lawn" then clover might just fit right in.
Eh...
I'm of two opinions about the whole "lawn" thing. I like having short vegetation surrounding my dwelling. I like being mostly able to walk out there in bare feet. I want as little dirt/mud as possible tracked in by humans and the hounds. I don't want erosion, I want something to absorb water. I don't want more snakes, or bugs, or rodents, in or near the house.
I don't like the expanded mulch beds, for a variety of reasons, or hard packed dirt, or pine straw. So, a lawn it is.
A mowed yard is anathema to snakes, mice, etc. Plus it absorbs, prevents erosion, isn't horribly dirty or muddy.
Do I care about the composition of the yard itself? Not so much. I have a lot of white clover out there. It stays green, it does the same job as turfgrass. In the front, a fair amount of moss, especially when its been wet. Do I care? No, it accomplishes the original intent of the grass yard.
Clover is a leaf, not a grass blade so it doesn't belong in a lawn. But if that's what you want, then who cares what other people think. If you don't have a "lawn" then clover might just fit right in.
My neighbor has Ivy growing everywhere, another thing that doesn't belong in the landscape. Invasive
Grass lawns are about the most unnatural things out there that don't belong in the landscape and are invasive species brought over from Europe.
A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn
For the past couple years, I have been trying different remedies for the large brown spots that appear periodically in my lawn. I have patched using various grass patch treatments available in the big box stores. I noticed that a lot of them are of the Weed and Feed variety, and most brag that they kill clover. I wondered what was so evil about clover and mostly what I found was:
Clover does not belong in the yard because it is a weed.
Clover is a weed because it does not belong in the yard.
I know that a weed is simply a plant that is not wanted in a particular place. So why, really, is clover considered to be a weed? Since I posted the topic, I have been doing further research. The history behind the import of clover as well as the evolution of lawns as an American status symbol is interesting. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com...on-with-lawns/
Since the 1600’s, clover was valued in American lawns. When lawns became increasingly popular for homeowners, commercial lawn seed contained a mix of grass and clover seeds. So how did clover become non grata? It turns out that the reason has its roots in the aftermath of WWII.
Herbicide research and development kicked into high gear during WWII, when the US government sought potent herbicides to destroy crops and local ecosystems to starve out enemy populations. It was at this time that 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was developed. After WWII ended, commercial companies realized that 2,4-D could be applied to lawns where it would destroy broadleaf plants but leave narrowleaf plants (i.e. grasses) undamaged.
After WWII ended, there was a critical need for affordable American family housing for the newly returned soldiers and their burgeoning families. Abraham Levitt pioneered modern suburbia with his wildly popular housing developments. These featured identical houses with identical patches of grass in front. HOAs sprang up to enforce rigid conformity “to maintain property values.” The new 2,4-D herbicides were just the ticket for ensuring homeogenity but unfortunately killed the lawn clover. Obviously, that was a problem. So, chemical company marketers declared the fact that their weed killers killed clover proved clover was a weed. Once the clover was gone, so were the benefits clover provided. This created and expanded the need to buy additional fertilizers and pesticides. This was a win-win for the chemical corporations and follow-on businesses such as lawn care services. They brag about their ability to kill clover even today.
That's my favorite reason for a clover lawn - no poison. Not in my yard or the animals that live here and pass through, none running into the watershed when it rains. The more I read about clover lawns, the happier I am to have headed in this direction. And it does stay smaller as time goes by.
As for moss, if I could have an emerald green carpet of low moss, I'd take it over anything else. It gets too hot here and too much sun, so I just toss the bits I find into the areas where it has the best chance to serve as a ground cover around some shade plants.
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