Saturday, June 5, 2010

Clover Lawn



Our first summer in this house this front walk was surrounded by a nasty perennial grass that I didn't like the look of at all. Now it has been taken over by clover.

I don't understand why I see so many people online trying to find out where to buy clover seed. Yeah, I get that people don't want to raise grass: apply chemical pesticides and herbicides, water all the time, contribute to fertilizer run-off that is poisoning the bay (insert local water body of your choice), etc. But clover is a weed. If you stop babying your grass and clover doesn't grow there on its own (if for instance you get violets, or moss, or plantains - all things that grow with wild abandon in other parts of my yard), I tend to think planting clover is no better than planting grass - just another attempt at monoculturing an inappropriately sited plant that's going to need special care to survive.

But yes, it is pretty.

2 comments:

  1. Is clover so bad? I mean, if it grows so well with no special watering or feeding, than that seems pretty good. Unless they're invasive are die in the summer or something.

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  2. Oh no, I don't mean to say that clover is bad. Just like with grass: clover isn't the problem - people are the problem. I'm trying to say that in places where clover doesn't grow so well without special care, cultivating clover is no greener (in the environmental sense) than cultivating grass.

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