| I can’t say what it is about weeds that l have always loved? Perhaps it is quite simply because they are misunderstood like some animal species. Whatever your opinion or view is on weeds, they are everywhere, and they are here to stay. Twenty-five years ago, l used to forage for weeds to feed the enormous number of rabbits l had in my commercial breeding operation. Knowing about them made everything easier because it meant that l wouldn’t accidentally kill an animal by feeding the wrong weed. Most weeds are harmless, not all. Of course, some are and can be deadly. The fact is that people don’t like weeds because they don’t belong where they usually appear or are out of place. Many a time, gardeners especially don’t want them because weeds tend to grow quicker and easier than many ornamental flowers. Weeds have a way of surviving. They are ONLY considered weeds on the domestic level because, let’s be honest, when we are out walking in the countryside, how many people are bothered by the presence of weeds then? There are advantages and disadvantages to having weeds in your gardens and yards. They do have a lot of benefits that many people tend to ignore, and this series will highlight that. |
| The Beauty of Weeds Companion Plantings Shelter Encouraging wildlife Fertilising and enriching the soils Providing and active Mulch/Soil protection Attracting pollinators and good insects Repelling pests Food source for animals and humans Serves as decoy crops Great for wildlifing the garden Soil conditioning |
| Clover Trifolium |
“Wildflowers aren’t meant to be cut & tamed. They’re meant to be loved & admired.
Anthony T. Hincks
Clover is also known as Trefoil.
| This little beauty can be in salads raw, or you can sauté them. The flowers can make tea if dried or decoratives in puddings and desserts, and they can be used to form part of your lawn, as they are soft underfoot, and the bees love them too. Just be aware that clover is quite invasive. You can grow some clover before turning your raised beds in for the winter months and digging into the soil and covered. Clover also provides nitrogen to the ground and is great as a replacement fertilizer, so there is no need for artificial fertilizers with clover growing. The growing of clovers can also help to reduce soil compaction. There is another beauty to clover, and that is it can act as a form of ‘Living Mulch‘ which can prove beneficial to some gardeners as a way of reducing weed growth. Savvy gardeners could easily incorporate clovers to work as a pathway between their crop lines if carefully considered into the gardening layout. |
| Check out Plant Profile |
| I hope you enjoyed C for Clover, and I’ll see you again soon. The Autistic Composter |
| Earthly Comfort Designs available on my Redbubble Store. Collections – Earthen Wurmin, Inspired By Nature and The Autistic Composter Please Pop Along and Check Them Out. |
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Good point. Weeds are only weeds because we think they are
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Clover is a favorite of mine. “Weeds” are overlooked in the same way every day ‘common sense’ is these days. Hybrid versions of plants (and thought) are terribly overrated at our own peril! 😉
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Hey Susan, so true. So many gardeners are so eager to see weeds gone because they look in their eyes unsightly and yet l find weeds very attractive and the pollinators adore them for their true scents.
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I’ve noticed that clover also tends to choke out other weeds and when I mow it it continues to grow back and will even continue to blossom. I love to see it growing in my lawn.
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Hey Ruth, clover is a wonderful little plant l think, and you are quite right – it is very hardy, which to some a benefit and to others invasive. i am a huge fan of it though 🙂
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Interesting. Everyone last year commented on how their gardens had been invaded by clover. It was everywhere.
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Hey Di, some years clover is seen everywhere and other years hardly anywhere. With people’s need for perfect lawns many try to eradicate it and yet when they do that they also take out the ability for many pollinators to visit their garden. It can be a hard battle to balance for some gardeners.
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Our lawns are very patchy where we’ve used different types of grass seeds, but the clover last year was everywhere. No four leaf ones though!
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If you weren’t adverse it, you could deliberatly plant clover seed with grass seed and the balance would eradicate the bare earth patches 🙂
White clover is a particularly good ‘grass replacer’ and lawn supporter.
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Thanks!
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Makes lovely tasting honey…
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Hey Grace, you are right, Suze has had clover or rather trefoil honey here she bought from Holland and Barret – called l think Gold Organic Canadian Wild Clover Honey 🙂
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Thank you, Rory! I also love clover. Had read the name in my weed books, but didn’t know trefoil meant clover. 😊
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Hey Betty – many thanks also – yes a lot of people don’t or didn’t know the two names were the same 🙂
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Thanks to you, now some do, Rory. 😊
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I actually love clover. I never knew it’s considered a weed. I also never knew about all the possible culinary and decorative purposes for it.
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Hey Astrid 🙂
It’s a lovely little plant with marvelous versatility to it 🙂
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