Grass or white Dutch clover for a lawn?

[Aneeda72]

Very true, extended heat waves definitely takes it's toll on plantings of all varieties.

If you do decide to seed in the fall, that's great, and if it takes well, even better, but if not, you'll have spring to fine-tune bare patches.

Very excited for you, Aneeda!

Thanks, I am very anxious to get it done. The bare ground makes so much dust.

 

[JustBonee]

Living out west in the Arizona Desert for years, I just loved desert landscaping .. this from someone who grew up in the NE
only patch of grass was in the backyard.

 

[Aneeda72]

Living out west in the Arizona Desert for years, I just loved desert landscaping .. this from someone who grew up in the NE
only patch of grass was in the backyard.

I love this yard.

 

[SeaBreeze]

I have poor soil in my yard too (dry, clay, sandy), and I went with white clover years back in the bald areas where it was hard to keep any grass alive. It did grow and cover the ground when I watered it regularly. But, it had to be redone every couple of years because it didn't last like grass does.

Another thing is we have a big open area behind our back yard, and the clover attracted rabbits and bees, so we were overrun with rabbits and had to step carefully in the yard because of the bees on the ground. It also is not ideal for picking up after the dog, since it has long stringy runners. Also heard that fertilizer, we use natural, will kill the clover because it's considered a weed, not sure if that's true.

Needless to say, I gave up on the clover and the grass for the last few years. I have a small area of grass and I just try and keep that alive without too much watering. They do sell native grasses which don't require too much water, but they are sold in small bags and very expensive. My front lawn we just put in volcanic rock many years ago and haven't had to fuss with it except for pulling some weeds in spring and summer.

 

[Aneeda72]

I have poor soil in my yard too (dry, clay, sandy), and I went with white clover years back in the bald areas where it was hard to keep any grass alive. It did grow and cover the ground when I watered it regularly. But, it had to be redone every couple of years because it didn't last like grass does.

Another thing is we have a big open area behind our back yard, and the clover attracted rabbits and bees, so we were overrun with rabbits and had to step carefully in the yard because of the bees on the ground. It also is not ideal for picking up after the dog, since it has long stringy runners. Also heard that fertilizer, we use natural, will kill the clover because it's considered a weed, not sure if that's true.

Needless to say, I gave up on the clover and the grass for the last few years. I have a small area of grass and I just try and keep that alive without too much watering. They do sell native grasses which don't require too much water, but they are sold in small bags and very expensive. My front lawn we just put in volcanic rock many years ago and haven't had to fuss with it except for pulling some weeds in spring and summer.

We rocked our last two houses, but they have changed the code and our neighbors had to remove their rocks. Also rocks have become more expensive. There just doesn’t seem to be a good solution.

 

[Greenbean]

We have the area cleared and ready to plant. He wants to put the grass seed in now, but I’ve told him it’s too hot. I’ve read up on white Dutch clover as an alternative lawn especially since our soil is so poor. We could spread it now. What do you think?

Any other suggestions for a ground cover in the front yard?

My "lawn" has, over the years, become a white Dutch clover lawn with some grass. It happened incrementally, a little clover seed here and there. What I have noticed is that clover is greener than grass, withstands drought, needs no fertilizer or poisons, is always prettier than the grass lawns, promotes the butterflies, microorganisms, a healthy soil, bees, over the years it crowds out all weeds (actually shades them out) it is soft to walk on with bare feet (which is good for you) and since there are no poisons it will never hurt you (poisons go through your skin). We love it and the amount of work it takes is...mowing once a week. If we didn't have neighbors we wouldn't even mow it. Also they claim it needs to be reseeded every 3-5 years but so far ours hasn't needed that. (3 years and going strong) Other benefits are that because you add no chemicals and your soil microorganisms build up and are healthy (we mulch mow so that all that good clover nitrogen rich particles are sent right back down to feed them) the rain that falls on your ground stays on your ground and doesn't run off. In July when our neighbors have burning brown edges to their lawns and brown patches and are forced to water a lot we do nothing and our entire lawn is super spring like green. I am hooked for life.

 

[Greenbean]

I have poor soil in my yard too (dry, clay, sandy), and I went with white clover years back in the bald areas where it was hard to keep any grass alive. It did grow and cover the ground when I watered it regularly. But, it had to be redone every couple of years because it didn't last like grass does.

Another thing is we have a big open area behind our back yard, and the clover attracted rabbits and bees, so we were overrun with rabbits and had to step carefully in the yard because of the bees on the ground. It also is not ideal for picking up after the dog, since it has long stringy runners. Also heard that fertilizer, we use natural, will kill the clover because it's considered a weed, not sure if that's true.

Needless to say, I gave up on the clover and the grass for the last few years. I have a small area of grass and I just try and keep that alive without too much watering. They do sell native grasses which don't require too much water, but they are sold in small bags and very expensive. My front lawn we just put in volcanic rock many years ago and haven't had to fuss with it except for pulling some weeds in spring and summer.

The good news about the rabbits liking your clover is that it will keep them from the other plants in your yard that they used to eat down to the ground. All of my new flowering plants and small bushes were always eaten by our plethora of rabbits until we developed our clover yard. Now the rabbits get so tired of eating clover they are exhausted and are always either eating clover or just sitting there. They seem to prefer clover over all things...except that one they are famous for.

 

[RadishRose]

The good news about the rabbits liking your clover is that it will keep them from the other plants in your yard that they used to eat down to the ground. All of my new flowering plants and small bushes were always eaten by our plethora of rabbits until we developed our clover yard. Now the rabbits get so tired of eating clover they are exhausted and are always either eating clover or just sitting there. They seem to prefer clover over all things...except that one they are famous for.

Hi @Greenbean and welcome to the forum!
Why not fill out your Profile and tell us a bit about yourself? Then you can introduce yourself in the Introduction thread.

 

[Greenbean]

Dog doo in clover doesn't sound good. Never thought of that. We are between dogs. Herbicides will kill clover. The man who first introduced the first herbicide apologized to people because back then, and throughout history, white clover had been a well-loved part of every lawn, because his product not only killed weeds, it also killed people's clover. From then on anything in a lawn that isn't just grass has been considered an undesirable weed. Back then people were much more knowledgeable about nature and realized the benefits of clover in their grass in that it constantly adds nitrogen. I harken back to the good old days when clover was a part of everyone's lawn, people enjoyed their yards instead of just working on taking care of them, and front porches were places where neighbors socialized, and family members lived close enough to enjoy it all with you.