Shamrocks For The Home Landscape


© Georgene A. Bramlage
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Page 3

Mar 17, 2004


It is low growing and green through summer dry spells and before the 1950's provided nitrogen for lawn grasses. Widespread and increasingly inexpensive use of fertilizers and herbicides changed the incidences of clover in lawns. Today, this once popular lawn component is now widely looked upon either as a weed or a forage crop.

However, white clover is slowly making a comeback in low-maintenance lawns. Residents of pesticide free zones in Canada are again using white clover for their lawns. It is growing in popularity in the Northeast United States as well. Homeowners wanting to try growing some in their own lawns, and willing to keep away from broad-leaf herbicides, will find the following characteristics of White Dutch clover very valuable.

White Dutch clover:

  • grows about four to eight inches high,
  • tolerates low mowing well,
  • spreads to fill in empty spaces,
  • stays green through dry periods of summer,
  • tolerates dog urine and
  • provides nitrogen (up to 2 pounds of N/1000 square feet) for the other grasses in the lawn, eliminating the need to fertilize.

'Tis A Happy Wearing of the Green
To You!

Now you know you can grow and appreciate your own shamrocks as well as have an inexpensive and healthy lawn.

You can learn more about E. Charles Nelson PhD and his interest in the botany and history of the shamrock by accessing his family website Tippitiwitchet Cottage. When Boethius Press (formerly in Kilkenny, Ireland & Aberystwyth, Wales) stopped printing, Nelson acquired their remaining stock of his titles including Shamrock: Botany and History of an Irish Myth. This is now available directly from Nelson or the book can also be obtained though used bookstores.

Readers can also learn more about the mythology of the shamrock here at the Suite by accessing Shamrocks: Luck O' the Clovers by Audrey Stallsmith at Historical Plants.

Mary Alward at Great Books for Kids has selected books for young readers about shamrocks and other things Irish in her March article St. Patrick's Day Reading.

Elsewhere on the web are these resources:
   

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages
16.   Jul 16, 2004 4:59 AM
In response to message posted by Dubh_Sidhe:

Virginia,

I also remember sitting in the lawn on a summer day making ...

-- posted by Cercis
15.   May 28, 2004 9:41 AM
When I was a little girl I remember sitting in the grass picking the white clover flowers and making flower chains with them. Sometimes the beautiful pink clover was also there and I would add that i ...

-- posted by Dubh_Sidhe
14.   May 3, 2004 3:09 AM
In response to message posted by Cercis:

I could draw them though and make little stencils and stamps.
It would kin ...

-- posted by brisbaneartist
13.   May 2, 2004 8:57 PM
In response to message posted by bici:

Georgene, your idea of a children's interactive garden at the library i ...

-- posted by Cercis
12.   May 2, 2004 8:53 PM
In response to message posted by brisbaneartist:

Jo,

Thanks for stopping by...

Actually all the plants that go ...

-- posted by Cercis



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