Ep 168. Pollinators Love No-Mow Clover
Sat, Jul 06, 2024 9:16PM • 9:56
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
lawn, clover, mow, garden, nest, life, alternative, dilemmas, flowers, white Clover, weeds, no-mow lawn, hope, porch, clover seed, story, field, year, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Mary, Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in; in the spirit of learning from each other, we have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there. It's Mary Stone on the screen porch, and we have gotten a little reprieve from the high temperatures and humidity thanks to those who reached back after last week's story about the gift of the giant umbrella pine. Pat wrote, I enjoyed your story. We took our wedding photos at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. We were there last spring, and I loved the Paw Paw trees. She may recall that I have Episode 82 where we talked about Paw Paw Trees. I invite you to tune in if you haven't done so already. I will put a link in the show notes.
Mary Stone 00:59
I want to let you know that the robin babies have successfully fledged the nest I've been telling you about this nest I've been admiring for so many weeks now. So, I sit here with two vacant nests in the viburnum outside the screen porch, one from the robin family and one from the sparrow family. The empty nests feel well empty. I miss the morning joy of observing them and their progression, but the successful family launching of young lives warms my heart, and I hope yours too. Much like when children launch into their lives and leave home but they return for visits. And in a way, birds do too; they tend to return to the same shrub or tree to nest again if it was a successful nesting spot.
Mary Stone 01:44
When you think about it, life constantly changes as the seasons do. Things come, and things go, and sometimes seasons don't unfold in the usual pattern. Last year there was a drought during the peak spring planting time. This year, we had a lovely, cool, and wet spring. Then we dove into a dry yet humid, high-heat spell. Recent rains have helped, but many lawns have browned out, not dead, just dormant. But ours remain green, as is mainly Clover that naturally found its way here. I adore Clover lawns, once the norm, and it is gaining popularity again, leading to this week's story, which starts like this.
Mary Stone 02:30
Hello, fellow listeners and readers. Recently, I designed a low-maintenance garden filled with an array of perennials, shrubs, and trees for year-round interest. I finished it off with a no-mow lawn alternative for a client in Bergen County, just outside of New York City. The lawn alternative is a combination of no-mow, micro clover seed mix by American Meadows and their No-mow Flowering Lawn Seed Mix. Their website gives us all sorts of good tidbits about them. Their no-mow lawn and micro clover seed mix gives you the look of a traditional manicured lawn without all the work, ideal for high-traffic areas, and resistant to pet spotting, which means you know when dogs use them as a bathroom. Low-growing fescues create a cushy feeling on your feet, and a softly textured lawn micro clover acts as a natural fertilizer, saving you time and money. And it's drought resistant and low maintenance. Once established, skip mowing altogether for a naturalistic look, or mow as little as once a month, and the maximum height is only three to six inches.
Mary Stone 03:41
And then their lovely no-mow flowering lawn seed mix has a lot of the same features, but it offers a perfect solution for a charming, pollinator friendly lawn, also drought tolerant. There are growing fescues that give you that same soft texture and dark green color, the white Clover creates a cushy feeling while you walk on it. And then there are sweet English daisies that add elegance and charm. So you can put away your lawnmower, pack a picnic, and enjoy this beautiful, low-maintenance lawn. It's bee-friendly, attracts butterflies, and it's easy to grow, and it, too, only grows three to six inches. So doesn't that sound fabulous? And it is.
Mary Stone 04:28
While visiting there in the spring, doing a little tune up, I just marveled at how many people were walking by looking at the beautiful English daisies populating the lawn. It was just so gorgeous. And there was a little boy who was in a stroller who didn't speak yet, and he kept pointing at the flowers. So I just love and marvel over how young children just stop in awe, as we spoke about last week when that young Jack was looking at the giant umbrella pine in such admiration.
Mary Stone 05:02
Linda and Jim moved from California to be near their children, who have kids of their own, and while on a trip to visit one of them overseas, I received an email - my lawn that I love is under assault. I love the look, but the city just cited me, which means he got a warning. If they don't cut it, they're going to be fined. I have to mow it now; so sad. The backyard looks just great. I hope I don't have to mow that.
Mary Stone 05:26
So indeed, Jim found out that the code was, you cannot have a grassy area over 10 inches. He sent me the specifics of the code. All premises and exterior property shall be managed free from weeds or plant growth in excess of 10 inches. Jim wrote that he agreed they shouldn't complain. If I keep the parts of my lawn that are away from the sidewalks and street within code and let the farther parts go up more than 10 inches, I'll meet with the building codes folks when I get back. For now, I had a friend mow only the front and side areas outside the aluminum fence. It pains me, but it will grow back, probably by the time that I get back.
Mary Stone 06:05
Thank you, Jim. I find it hard to imagine your Clover lawn grew higher than 10 inches. If I can help with the town, please let me know. I sent him a few links, including the history of lawns. Clover lawns were the norm, and here, Clover was part of lawn seed mixes before the 1950s when chemical companies began marketing broadleaf weed killers that also killed Clover. And so Clover became considered a weed. And yet, Clover offers many benefits, and thankfully, gaining popularity again. I also shared bits of a story from a few years ago.
Mary Stone 06:21
I stumbled upon the most beautiful field of Clover, leading to glorious reasons why white Clover makes a magnificent lawn alternative. Pollinators were scurrying from one dainty puff to another, busily gathering nectar and pollen. Their hairy legs were combing through each petal of the pinkish white blooms, there were primarily honeybees, but many bumblebees too. All were sharing the bounty. Politely, no arguments over who's who's. I stood quietly listening to their soft buzz and saw a rhythm in their movements. It's interesting how a honeybee can land on a clover flower, assesses fruits, then quickly move on. Perhaps the pollen was already taken.
Mary Stone 07:09
I tiptoed through the field, grabbing photos and carefully not stepping on anyone beyond the beauty of the expansive flowers which lit up the field as dusk was falling. What makes it more remarkable is that the ground serves as a sports field for children. It's comforting to know weed killers and other chemicals are likely not being used there, especially in the wake of the glyphosate controversy and roundup in others.Thankfully, there's a revival of using Clover as a lawn alternative.
Mary Stone 07:41
Or it can be mixed with grass seed in high traffic areas like sports fields, where it's becoming a new trend, and for many good reasons. It's drought tolerant, so your lawn will stay greener. And an all Clover Park requires little or no mowing. Most mow once a season after the flowers fade to encourage a second bloom mixed with traditional Bluegrass or Bermuda grass, you'll need to cut more often. Clover does not need fertilization, as it's a nitrogen fixer that farmers often use as a living mulch between rows of vegetables. You'll never need herbicides like Roundup or other ugly stuff as white clover squelches weeds. Most magnificent is Clover attracts beautiful insects, like our important pollinators, that have been dangerously in decline, a Field of Dreams rather than a yard of chemicals. Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 08:39
I hope when Linda and Jim return from their overseas trip, that they will be able to convince the town that what they have in their lawn is not beyond the code. They are following the rules, and they are making new rules about consideration for accepting that Clover in the lawn is not a weed, and it changed from years ago, and it can change back. Wildlife is about change. Sometimes it takes a little convincing. So thanks again for coming by. I always enjoy our time together, and I hope you have as well. And I hope we never forget or take for granted the beautiful freedoms that we have in this life, and we should extend that to our wildlife too. Thanks again. See you next time on the screen porch.
Mary Stone 09:26
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag. Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.
