A clover lawn is composed of clover and can be used as an alternative to grass lawns. It requires less maintenance than a traditional lawn and utilizes less water. [1] [2] It is also more heat tolerant. [3] White clover is the plant most frequently used. [4] Red clover may also be used. [5]
Clover lawns have grown in popularity, along with other grass alternatives, becoming trends shared across social media platforms like TikTok. As a trend, clover lawns gained widespread attention in 2023, being Google's most searched for home improvement. [6] Historically, particularly in the early 1900s, clover was often intentionally included in turf mixes. After the widespread adoption of herbicides for lawn maintenance, clover eventually became undesirable. [4] Then, clover was typically dealt with as a weed before its newfound resurgence. [7] Clover appeals to homeowners who wish to be more environmentally friendly. [8]
White clover, commonly used in clover lawns, attracts pollinators and can have a beneficial effect on local nectar production. It is also a nitrogen fixing plant. White clover is able to withstand damp environments and can be desirable in areas prone to flooding. [1] It is less suited to shaded areas. [8] Clover also functions as groundcover and can reduce a homeowner's reliance on fertilizer, leading to its desirability among consumers. [9] To maintain a height of about 3 to 4 inches, it can be mowed every four to six weeks. [10] Other homeowners allow the clover to grow taller and only mow it a few times a year. [5] Clover is also more robust in alkaline soils than grass. A technique, when clover is preferred to grass, is achieved by adding lime to the soil to encourage the clover to dominate the lawn. [11] Research conducted in Iran and former usage shows that either alone or mixed with grass it is more resistant to heat and requires less water to be maintained. [2] [12]
Clover lawns are vulnerable to anthracnose and are not desirable in grass used for sports due to the leaves causing more slipping than grass. [12] They are functionally desirable for people engaged in urban chicken keeping as they are useful as green forage for the birds. [13] Clover can easily spread to other areas and may not be desirable for homeowners who wish to keep "distinct garden areas". [3]
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica and are found in most ecoregions of the Earth. Furthermore, grasslands are one of the largest biomes on Earth and dominate the landscape worldwide. There are different types of grasslands: natural grasslands, semi-natural grasslands, and agricultural grasslands. They cover 31–69% of the Earth's land area.
A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes—it is also commonly referred to as part of a garden. Lawns are usually composed only of grass species, subject to weed and pest control, maintained in a green color, and are regularly mowed to ensure an acceptable length. Lawns are used around houses, apartments, commercial buildings and offices. Many city parks also have large lawn areas. In recreational contexts, the specialised names turf, parade, pitch, field or green may be used, depending on the sport and the continent.
Organic lawn management or organic turf management or organic land care or organic landscaping is the practice of establishing and caring for an athletic turf field or garden lawn and landscape using organic horticulture, without the use of manufactured inputs such as synthetic pesticides or artificial fertilizers. It is a component of organic land care and organic sustainable landscaping which adapt the principles and methods of sustainable gardening and organic farming to the care of lawns and gardens.
Trifolium repens, the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae. It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and central Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated types of clover. It has been widely introduced worldwide as a forage crop, and is now also common in most grassy areas of North America, Australia and New Zealand. The species includes varieties often classed as small, intermediate and large, according to height, which reflects petiole length. The term 'white clover' is applied to the species in general, 'Dutch clover' is often applied to intermediate varieties, and 'ladino clover' is applied to large varieties.
Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses.
Hydroseeding is a planting process that uses a slurry of seed and mulch. It is often used as an erosion control technique on construction sites, as an alternative to the traditional process of broadcasting or sowing dry seed.
Melilotus albus, known as honey clover, white melilot (UK), Bokhara clover (Australia), white sweetclover (US), and sweet clover, is a nitrogen-fixing legume in the family Fabaceae. Melilotus albus is considered a valuable honey plant and source of nectar and is often grown for forage. Its characteristic sweet odor, intensified by drying, is derived from coumarin.
Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. The primary aim is to return areas and ecosystems to their previous state before their depletion.
Turf management or pitchcare describes the work needed to keep a sporting pitch ready for use. This article looks at the various types of sporting pitches and the type of challenges which they present.
Lolium perenne, common name perennial ryegrass, English ryegrass, winter ryegrass, or ray grass, is a grass from the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe, Asia and northern Africa, but is widely cultivated and naturalised around the world.
Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden.
St. Augustine grass, also known as buffalo turf in Australia and buffalo grass in South Africa, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a warm-season lawn grass that is popular for cultivation in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a medium- to high-maintenance grass that forms a thick, carpetlike sod, crowding out most weeds and other grasses.
In permaculture, sheet mulching is an agricultural no-dig gardening technique that attempts to mimic the natural soil-building process in forests. When deployed properly and in combination with other permaculture principles, it can generate healthy, productive, and low maintenance ecosystems.
Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acceptance in other regions as access to irrigation water has become limited, though it is not limited to such climates. Xeriscaping may be an alternative to various types of traditional gardening.
Sustainable landscaping is a modern type of gardening or landscaping that takes the environmental issue of sustainability into account. According to Loehrlein in 2009 this includes design, construction and management of residential and commercial gardens and incorporates organic lawn management and organic gardening techniques.
Digitaria didactyla is a species of grass known by the common names blue couch, Queensland blue couch, blue serangoon grass, green serangoon grass, blue stargrass, and petit gazon. It is native to Mauritius, Réunion, parts of mainland Africa, and Madagascar. It has been introduced widely outside its native range, mainly for use as a pasture and turf grass. It has naturalized in some regions.
A tapestry lawn is a lawn format that has no grass component.
Moss lawns are lawns composed of moss, which occur naturally, but can also be cultivated like grass lawns. They are a defining element in moss gardens.
Phyla canescens is a species of perennial herbaceous plant in the family Verbenaceae, native to South America. It has been introduced to Australia as an ornamental plant and low-maintenance lawn, but has become naturalised and is considered a serious environmental weed. It is known by several common names including carpet weed, Condamine couch, Condamine curse, fog fruit, frog fruit, hairy fogfruit, lippia, mat grass and no-mow grass.
An urban meadow is a meadow which is influenced both by the environmental conditions of a city and the aesthetic and social needs of its residents. This differs from other meadow types as it is a highly engineered, novel, and site-specific designed landscape as well as an example of a nature-based solution (NBS).