4 ms·

Highly recommend clover mixed in grass or instead of grass if it's native to your area. During parts of the day you can watch a giant ecosystem of different typ

Highly recommend clover mixed in grass or instead of grass if it's native to your area. During parts of the day you can watch a giant ecosystem of different types of bees & other insects flying in it. Ours is softer than grass. It takes less water & there are some great shorter verities. Only cons I'm aware of is it doesn't hold up to constant hourly foot traffic. Obviously it also attracts bees so if you're allergic that would be bad.

darknavi 3y ago
Also gives bunnies and other critters a lot to snack on.
phil21 3y ago
I love my microclover lawn. It's postage stamp sized due to being in the city, but if I had more space I'd definitely love to see a large yard with it. It's more resistant to dog pee, and it fixes nitrogen so you don't need to fertilize as much (if at all). I use a "dog park" mix from PT Lawn Seed[0] - they also have a lot of other really neat things like native butterfly seeds mixed and ready to go. I've had great luck just randomly spreading them in small areas and having a weirdo explosion of a mini ecosystem a month or two later. You can even take some of the meadow/butterfly mixes and just overseed a large patio container and have a great time just watering and fertilizing it with no other maintenance. I've found that you don't want too much clover because it will end up covering less ground when wet/stepped on due to the way it roots and then spreads horizontally - vs. grass that grows straight up. A full clover lawn would turn into a muddy mess if used during non-ideal conditions. I cut mine high (4-5" or so, and not often) and the number of insects per square foot after a few years is amazing. You can spend a lot of time just staring at a particular spot and discovering more action then you ever thought possible. My use is pretty high traffic, but if I had areas rarely walked on I'd probably go with another eco mix[1] with more flowering plants to grass ratio. [0] https://ptlawnseed.com/products/pt-767-dog-park-eco-turf-mix https://ptlawnseed.com/products/pt-767-dog-park-eco-turf-mix [1] https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns
- el_benhameen 3y ago
  Clover has been very appealing to me, and I’m especially interested in the dog park mix as the dog is not kind to our grass. But I have kids, and they like to run around barefoot in the summer. Have you (or anyone else with a clover lawn) found bee/child interactions to be an issue?
  - droopyEyelids 3y ago
    In my part of the world, if I'm walking on a clover/grass mix barefoot for more than 20 minutes, I will absolutely get a beesting on my foot.
  - mattferderer 3y ago
    No one has been stung by a bee due to clover in our yard & shoes are rarely worn which I why I mentioned how it's often nicer to walk on than grass. Couple important notes from our yard. * Our yard is mowed fairly frequently so when there are no flowers there are no bees. * The bees are only active during parts of the day. Evenings they're usually not out. * In our yard bees are very visible if you just look down. They're mesmerizing to watch. * The clover doesn't cover our entire yard. * We have stepped on wasps but that was unrelated to clover
- patall 3y ago
  > It's more resistant to dog pee, and it fixes nitrogen so you don't need to fertilize as much (if at all). My understanding is that if you want any kind of 'natural' garden, you do not fertilize at all. Independent of whether you plant anything nitrogen fixing or not. Pretty much all gardens are overfertilized anyways which may be a big disadvantage for many natural species.
spookie 3y ago
Can confirm! As someone from the Mediterranean, I can also recommend "Lavandula stoechas". Also known as Spanish Lavender. The honey from these is so good! (Edit: Non native plants should be avoided!)
deleted 3y ago
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darknavi 3y ago

Also gives bunnies and other critters a lot to snack on.

phil21 3y ago

I love my microclover lawn. It's postage stamp sized due to being in the city, but if I had more space I'd definitely love to see a large yard with it. It's more resistant to dog pee, and it fixes nitrogen so you don't need to fertilize as much (if at all). I use a "dog park" mix from PT Lawn Seed[0] - they also have a lot of other really neat things like native butterfly seeds mixed and ready to go. I've had great luck just randomly spreading them in small areas and having a weirdo explosion of a mini ecosystem a month or two later. You can even take some of the meadow/butterfly mixes and just overseed a large patio container and have a great time just watering and fertilizing it with no other maintenance. I've found that you don't want too much clover because it will end up covering less ground when wet/stepped on due to the way it roots and then spreads horizontally - vs. grass that grows straight up. A full clover lawn would turn into a muddy mess if used during non-ideal conditions. I cut mine high (4-5" or so, and not often) and the number of insects per square foot after a few years is amazing. You can spend a lot of time just staring at a particular spot and discovering more action then you ever thought possible. My use is pretty high traffic, but if I had areas rarely walked on I'd probably go with another eco mix[1] with more flowering plants to grass ratio. [0] https://ptlawnseed.com/products/pt-767-dog-park-eco-turf-mix https://ptlawnseed.com/products/pt-767-dog-park-eco-turf-mix [1] https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns

el_benhameen 3y ago
Clover has been very appealing to me, and I’m especially interested in the dog park mix as the dog is not kind to our grass. But I have kids, and they like to run around barefoot in the summer. Have you (or anyone else with a clover lawn) found bee/child interactions to be an issue?
- droopyEyelids 3y ago
  In my part of the world, if I'm walking on a clover/grass mix barefoot for more than 20 minutes, I will absolutely get a beesting on my foot.
- mattferderer 3y ago
  No one has been stung by a bee due to clover in our yard & shoes are rarely worn which I why I mentioned how it's often nicer to walk on than grass. Couple important notes from our yard. * Our yard is mowed fairly frequently so when there are no flowers there are no bees. * The bees are only active during parts of the day. Evenings they're usually not out. * In our yard bees are very visible if you just look down. They're mesmerizing to watch. * The clover doesn't cover our entire yard. * We have stepped on wasps but that was unrelated to clover
patall 3y ago
> It's more resistant to dog pee, and it fixes nitrogen so you don't need to fertilize as much (if at all). My understanding is that if you want any kind of 'natural' garden, you do not fertilize at all. Independent of whether you plant anything nitrogen fixing or not. Pretty much all gardens are overfertilized anyways which may be a big disadvantage for many natural species.

spookie 3y ago

Can confirm! As someone from the Mediterranean, I can also recommend "Lavandula stoechas". Also known as Spanish Lavender. The honey from these is so good! (Edit: Non native plants should be avoided!)

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]