Yahoo Lifestyle The Low-Maintenance Yard Trend Homeowners Are Ditching Grass For
Want a lush, green lawn, but don’t want to spend your evenings and weekends carefully watering, fertilizing, and tending to your yard?
A clover lawn is the garden trend you need on your radar.
This eco-friendly alternative to grass is becoming a favorite of gardeners, particularly because it’s easy-to-grow, pretty to look at, and you don’t need to be a lawn care expert to have a perfectly green yard.
“Clover is a great choice for those interested in a pollinator-friendly, sustainable, and low-maintenance lawn without having to compromise on aesthetics,” explains Matthew Koch, Ph.D., Director of Biotechnology and Genetics at Scotts.
This low-growing legume (yes, it’s a legume!) is soft, dense, and, when you look at it from afar, you’d have no idea it’s not grass. Plus, it has myriad benefits for everything from pollinators to your soil. Want to add clover to your own lawn? Here are five things you should know about this good-luck greenery.
Clover Lawns Are the Ultimate Low-Maintenance Lawn
Clover, which is often mixed with grass when used in a lawn, is naturally low maintenance. It grows easily, and even beginner gardeners can plant it without trouble. Koch recommends planting clover with a spreader, then using a rake to ensure the seeds are evenly covering the lawn. Water twice daily for the next two weeks.
“Once the clover is established, maintenance is a breeze. Homeowners can mow clover once it reaches desired height, though it naturally requires less mowing compared to grass lawns,” says Koch. All it takes to fertilize the clover lawn is to return the clippings.
Clover Lawns Are Drought-Tolerant
Drought-tolerant clover will stay green even during periods of little rain, and if you’re getting regular rain, you don’t even need to think about watering. “With deep-growing roots, clover lawns stay greener for longer during short-term drought conditions. If there are weeks without rain, watering about once per week should be sufficient,” says Koch.
Clover Lawns Improve Your Soil
Your entire yard will benefit from your clover lawn, including any shrubs, trees, or flowers you have planted in your garden. Koch explains, “Clover acts as a natural fertilizer for soil, by absorbing nitrogen from the atmosphere and transforming it into nitrogen usable by other plants.”
And, if you live in an area prone to heavy summer rains, Koch says that your clover lawn can help protect your yard by preventing rainwater run-off because it aerates compacted soil.
Clover Lawns Attract Pollinators
For those who love pollinator gardens, clover lawns are a welcome addition. Koch says, “Clover flowers can enhance a backyard’s biodiversity by attracting beneficial insects, including bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.” Pair that with the lack of excessive watering and the benefits for the soil, and you have an incredibly eco-friendly lawn choice.
Of course, bees are both a blessing and a curse, particularly if you have kids and pets playing in the yard. Luckily, you can easily manage the bee population by mowing the lawn regularly. “Keeping your clover lawn trimmed reduces the number of flowers available, making it less appealing to bees,” says Koch, though he notes that you shouldn’t cut it too short or you’ll stress the clover.
Koch suggests mowing right before you know you'll be in the yard, temporarily removing all flowers. You can also create a pollinator zone within your yard where the clover is allowed to flower freely, perhaps side-by-side with native pollinator flowers.
Clover Lawns Are Adaptable Through Most of the U.S.
Clover lawns like a temperate climate and moderate rainfall, so gardeners throughout most of the United States will have good luck trying to grow a clover lawn. “In cooler regions, such as those in the northern U.S., clover can grow more easily during the growing season, benefiting from the natural rainfall and moderate summer temperatures,” says Koch.
If you live in the South and enjoy mild winters? You might have vibrant, lush green clover all year-round.
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