#30
We built in 2014 and the entire yard was sodded. It looked great at first, but the soil and the weather soon took their toll and the lawn became uneven. Fertilizing didn't help and I didn't pay for an irrigation system.

I have been overseeding with Dutch white clover for the last two years and replacing bare spots with clover seed as well. It seems to grow very well and the mix of perennial grasses and clover takes a lot less maintenance than a regular grass lawn. It outcompetes other weeds and doesn't grow particularly tall, so it requires a lot less mowing.

It tolerates the dog, our poor soil, and our inconsistent (but generally miserable) Virginia summer weather. I am not sure why people started killing it.
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#31
I have a lot of it in my lawn, along with plenty of crabgrass and weeds. Bees love it.
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#32
We have quite a bit of DWC growing in our lawn.  The bunnies love the stuff.

We also have quite a lot of violets.

Neither bother me, I think they look kind of nice mixed in with the grass.

I'm not a big fan of dandelions but mostly let the grass grown long enough between mowings, which seems to choke them off.
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#33
I was not familiar with the concept of a clover lawn.  I guess the fact that you have to frequently re-seed and that it is not durable enough for some play activities would be reason enough for most people.  

I could see it for a backyard; if it started to spread to my neighbor's homes I might have a problem with them.

I had a (hated) neighbor who grew dandilions on his lawn creating a dandilion issue for all his neighbors.  It turns out that he was pressing wine from the dandilions.

I would not want to be the "hated-weed-growing-neighbor".

https://dengarden.com/gardening/Clover-Lawns
  • It stains clothing more easily than grass.

  • It is not durable enough for playing fields or high traffic areas, unless mixed with grass.

  • It is a short-lived perennial and may require reseeding every 2-3 years to maintain an even stand in pure clover lawns. In mixed grass-clover lawns, clover will reseed itself adequately to maintain a consistent presence.
Note:  They also attract bees, a consideration.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#34
I have a fair amount of it, and leave it alone. Not so the other weeds, 2-4,D won't kill the clover but does takes care of most of the other stuff. Clover is a legume (I think) so it's good for the yard (and the bees). Funny thing, I have plenty of it but have never seeded it.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#35
If you had a 100% clover lawn, it's my understanding that you would need to reseed frequently since it doesn't live that long. That sounds odd to me, especially since most people end up with some clover whether they want to or not.

I mix clover seed in with my fertilizer (no weed killers, just in case) and grass seed when I overseed. Mixing clover with perennial grasses mitigates both the durability issue and, for some reason, the reseeding issue.

Clover also outcompetes dandelion, sedge, and crabgrass, so it is a pretty good "weed killer" in its own right.

There's also something quite peaceful about the mason bees buzzing around from flower to flower in the summer sun. The bunnies love it too, though living in the woods with plenty of foxes and coyotes the only bunny that gets to enjoy it is mine when I bring him outside.
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#36
(05-24-2019, 08:40 AM)FS7 Wrote: If you had a 100% clover lawn, it's my understanding that you would need to reseed frequently since it doesn't live that long. That sounds odd to me, especially since most people end up with some clover whether they want to or not.

I mix clover seed in with my fertilizer (no weed killers, just in case) and grass seed when I overseed. Mixing clover with perennial grasses mitigates both the durability issue and, for some reason, the reseeding issue.

Clover also outcompetes dandelion, sedge, and crabgrass, so it is a pretty good "weed killer" in its own right.

There's also something quite peaceful about the mason bees buzzing around from flower to flower in the summer sun. The bunnies love it too, though living in the woods with plenty of foxes and coyotes the only bunny that gets to enjoy it is mine when I bring him outside.

There was a recent (couple of months ago) episode of This Old House that went where sod was grown and the sod grower went into clover (not remember which clover) in the sod needing less water and required less maintenance. Roger, the newish woman landscaper, and Kevin were on that site visit.
WoodTinker
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#37
Our yard in front isn't too bad- some St. Augustine, Bermuda and other wild plants. But the rest of the yard is too large to try and establish just grass. We have Bermuda, Clover, a large area of wild flowers, St Augustine, Henbit, Chickweed and a couple of paddle cactus plants. It stays green almost all year.
The back of the property has a bunch of tall grass stuff I don't know much of, but the deer love to bed down in it.

Clover is good for the soil! Keep it going.

My favorite are the flowers (Lots of butterflies and bees and flying things) so I'm letting them go to seed before spreading them and mowing- ready for next season.



[Image: 9CQTSMz.jpg]
[Image: rkYYQBx.jpg]



 The deer beds are in there.
[Image: ChLijSW.jpg]
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#38
(05-24-2019, 11:58 PM)daddo Wrote: Our yard in front isn't too bad- some St. Augustine, Bermuda and other wild plants. But the rest of the yard is too large to try and establish just grass. We have Bermuda, Clover, a large area of wild flowers, St Augustine, Henbit, Chickweed and a couple of paddle cactus plants. It stays green almost all year.
The back of the property has a bunch of tall grass stuff I don't know much of, but the deer love to bed down in it.

Clover is good for the soil! Keep it going.

My favorite are the flowers (Lots of butterflies and bees and flying things) so I'm letting them go to seed before spreading them and mowing- ready for next season.



[Image: 9CQTSMz.jpg]
[Image: rkYYQBx.jpg]



 The deer beds are in there.
[Image: ChLijSW.jpg]

Depending on the species, you can mow the flowers and it will disperse the seed for you. White clover blooms pretty consistently here from mid-May through September (sometimes later if it's mild) and dry flowers carry lots of seed. I keep the mower set higher so the younger flowers don't get mowed but the older drier ones disperse the seed.
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#39
Clover is fine if nobody in the household is allerigic to bee stings......I have more of it than I like, loml is allerigic, yes she has been stung walking across the yard barefoot. We don't know about the grandkids so flip-flops are mandatory when they are in the yard.

Ed
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Anybody else have a clover lawn (whole or part)?


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