hey guys, so my parents yard, and mine now again too since i just moved back from college, has two different elevations which causes the grass to be fine on one side, and die on the other due to too much rainfall and the soil turning to mud basically on that half of our yard (as pictured). I’ve been super interested in clover lawns and moss lawns over grass, and my dad finally said he would consider clover if i could get all the information sorted out and convince him that it will look good. My main issue that I keep running into is that there is SOOO much conflicting information about what clovers are native to my home, western washington (near everett, i believe zone 8b but then again it’s different on each map it seems) and won’t die in a pretty wet environment. I just need some help sorting out which clover to choose, and i can hopefully gather enough pros to convince him. I was also hoping some of you guys could drop maybe some unexpected pros, like i saw one person say that the rabbits in her yard ate her garden flowers and vegetables less because they nibbled on the clover instead! just pls help me convince him!!!! but also any unexpected cons might be nice to know too lol. THEY WANT TO PUT IN A TURF PLASTIC YARD IF I CANT AND I REALLY DONT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN PLSSSS
by weedgamergorl
3 Comments
clover isn’t much better but it it adds nitrogen to the soil. I add it to my turf areas
Google images of clover lawns and select ones that represent what you envision the best. Show him those images and just ask if hed support approximately that style of yard.
If he supports that yard, then ask if he’d be ok with you learning how to manage the yard. This means that it might not be perfect the first year and take time to fill in.
Also, I would not prioritize native over functional here. Anything is going to be better than turf grass or plastic.
Check out this list. I didn’t narrow it down to your area, just short wet preferring plants under 6”. https://grownative.org/native-plant-database/?_native_plant_soil_moisture=high%2Cwet&_height_range=under-6-inches
These can be mixed in with the clover and make for beautiful spring flowers.
Checkout our !groundcovers wiki for a good rundown of your options, the pros and cons. I’ll second the person saying clover lawns aren’t much better than any other lawn.
You likely won’t find many clovers which are native to your area which work as a lawn replacement. Trifolium repens, the standard white clover you see in lawns, is native to Eurasia. There are other trifolium species native to North America, but few can be found in quantities that justify trying to grow it as a lawn. And don’t let anyone tell you that Dalea clovers work as a lawn clover – totally different type of plant.
Your best bet is to install a pocket prairie or native landscaping. A small area of natives will be significantly more helpful than a clover lawn. Checkout the wild ones garden designs linked in the automod comment for inspiration.