this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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We introduced a ton of clover into our lawn 4 years ago and have been letting it self-seed & spread. It's been great.
My boomer-y neighbors don't like it and make comments, but ours is the only green lawn for several blocks because it hasn't rained for shit all summer. Plus we have wildflower areas so we also have all kinds of bumblebees, butterflies, and dragonflies cruising around.
NO ONE is watering their lawn? You are the sole green lawn in a sea of dead brown lawns? For some reason I do not believe you.
If their in california its entirely believable, after awhile it becomes too expensive to water, hence why I have dirt.
There in California it's entirely believable.
I am sorry I was not 100% precise with my internet words. I will go count the minority of lawns in my neighborhood that don't look like shit after work and report back with exactly how many lawns look bad, how many look just okay, and how many are lush and green.
I retract my overarching point, made via a personal anecdote and which I presumed was clear, that a more sustainable lawn is looked down upon by many people who favor turfgrass while demonstrating characteristics that those same people generally find desirable.
Edit It also might not have been a full ton of clover. It may have only been ten pounds of seed. Excuse the hyperbole.
Some places legit ban watering during dry times
Nobody waters their lawn in Seattle. The only green you will find in the summer is from clover or maybe creeping thyme.
Many places enforce watering restrictions. Usually it's "even house numbers on even days, odd on odd," then when it gets hot out, watering only allowed at night. For almost a month my area (in northern Illinois) had a complete water ban, until this recent week now that we're getting so much rain we're flooding.
They do the even/odd thing in my area, as well. A couple years ago it was super bad, and there was a full ban for like a whole month. I think people were getting fined a surprising amount for watering.
After a few years of that to set the tone, watering one's grass has kinda become unfashionable. At least in urban areas like mine.
We've tried both clover and thyme, but we can't get them to really take off. But I think we just weren't doing enough at a time and wildlife was eating it all. Our current course of action has been killing sections of grass with a tarp, then planting the clover and our first patch is doing well.
You do need to water it pretty aggressively at first, or be lucky and have daily rain for about a week. ALSO, the first year is kinda underwhelming in general. It really tool off in subsequent years for us. This is our fourth (I think?) year of the clover lawn and it's really nice now.
Good luck with yours!