The world of landscaping has trends and fads just like anything else. Right now, as many Randolph area homeowners are interested in achieving a more planet friendly, sustainable lifestyle, the topic of clover lawns has once again come up.
Clover is an attractive ground cover crop that grows well in most of Massachusetts. The flowers clovers produce are attractive – white or pink, most often – and they’re valuable food for many different pollinators. People who want to support the health of local bee populations are very enthusiastic about clover lawns.
As a Randolph lawn care company, here’s how we’re seeing people approaching clover lawns:
In the Pollinator Garden: Increasingly common landscape trend – devote a portion of the yard to plantings that benefit butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Pollinator gardens often involve the use of perennial plants and low maintenance ground covers. A clover lawn is ideal in this application.
Places You Don’t Like to Mow: Those parts of your lawn that are on a slope, bumpy, rocky, or otherwise no fun to mow are also good areas to consider for clover lawn installation.
Areas the Soil Really Needs Enriching: One of the best things about clover is that as it grows, it enriches the surrounding soil with nitrogen. This is the reason you’ll see farmers planting clover on their fields once every few years: it helps keep the soil strong.
Not Great Places for Clover Lawns: Kid’s Play Areas, Pet Areas, and Entertaining Areas
With attractive foliage, cute flowers, and whimsical clouds of bees having lunch, clover lawns are great for some part of your landscape. But they don’t work everywhere. The places your family plays, relaxes, and entertains will look better and provide a better experience if you choose a more traditional grass lawn. Grass is more able to resist the wear and tear that comes from active kids and pets having fun.
Is anyone in the family highly allergic to bees? If the answer is yes, the clover lawn is probably not the best choice. People are often pleasantly surprised by the number and types of wild creatures that are drawn to pollinator gardens and more sustainable landscapes.
