A clover lawn is a growing alternative to traditional turf grass, offering a distinct visual and tactile experience. This shift toward a less conventional ground cover is driven by a desire for a more sustainable and low-maintenance landscape. Understanding what this type of lawn looks like requires examining its overall appearance, the differences between common varieties, and its texture and resilience.
The General Aesthetic of a Clover Lawn
A mature clover lawn presents a rich, deep green color that often appears more vibrant than standard turf grasses. This saturation is maintained even during periods of low rainfall, when many grasses would fade or turn brown. The overall appearance is dense and uniform, creating a lush, solid carpet across the ground.
If allowed to grow naturally without frequent mowing, a clover lawn achieves a slightly shaggier, meadow-like look, with some varieties reaching up to eight inches high. If kept mown, it forms a tight, even groundcover, distinct from grass due to its trifoliate leaves. The characteristic feature defining the clover aesthetic is the presence of its small, globe-shaped flowers.
These flowers, commonly white in Dutch white clover, create a speckled tapestry across the lawn’s surface and attract pollinators. They typically appear throughout the warmer months, contributing to a less manicured, more naturalistic design. Even when mown, the clover quickly regrows its leaves and flowers, maintaining its signature look.
Common Clover Varieties and Their Visual Differences
The appearance of a clover lawn depends heavily on the specific variety planted, with Dutch White Clover (Trifolium repens) and Microclover being the two most common choices. Dutch White Clover, the traditional variety, features moderately sized leaves and grows taller, reaching six to eight inches if left uncut. This variety produces abundant white, pom-pom-like flowers, giving the lawn a distinctly flowered look throughout the season.
Microclover is a selectively bred dwarf variety of white clover, intended for a neater, more conventional appearance. It exhibits significantly smaller leaves and a lower growth habit, typically staying between four and six inches even when unmown. This lower profile allows Microclover to blend more seamlessly with turf grasses, making it a popular choice for mixed lawns.
A Microclover lawn produces fewer flowers than Dutch White Clover, resulting in a more uniform green surface that is less speckled with white blooms. Other varieties, such as Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), offer a taller appearance and distinct pinkish-purple flowers, but are less amenable to regular mowing. The choice ranges from a flowered meadow to a more subdued, tidy green carpet.
The Functional Look: Texture, Density, and Resilience
The functional look of a clover lawn is defined by its texture and density. Up close, clover leaves are broad and soft, offering a cushiony, inviting texture that is gentle on bare feet. This softness is a tactile difference from the stiffer blades of traditional grass.
Clover’s dense, mat-forming growth habit effectively crowds out weeds, resulting in a surface with fewer visible patches. The thick cover also minimizes the appearance of bare soil, contributing to a consistently lush and full look. This high density is due to the plant’s ability to spread laterally via stolons, forming a tight mesh across the ground.
In terms of resilience, clover displays unique qualities under stress, particularly during dry weather. When drought causes turf grasses to turn brown, clover’s deep taproots access deeper moisture, maintaining its deep green color longer. Although heavy foot traffic can temporarily flatten clover stems, the plant recovers quickly, and the growth density minimizes the appearance of worn areas.