Saskatoon homeowners try their luck with clover lawns

As the summer heat wears on, enjoying some time on your lawn can be a nice way to spend the day.

With different options from natural to artificial, clover lawns have been popping up around Saskatoon more and more.

“A lot more people are planting clover on purpose,” said Cory Confrey, purchaser at Early’s Farm & Garden Centre. “We still have a lot of people that are trying to get rid of the clover in their lawn because they don't like the way it looks.”

While some claims that clover lawns use less water can’t be verified by Confrey as he hasn’t seen evidence, he does say clover tends to fare better in adverse conditions.

“It depends on the growing conditions, what kind of soil you have,” he said. “And clover tends to be adapted to a wider variety of soils than grass, so it may do better with less water in your particular yard.”

Another main benefit of clover lawns is the menu it provides for local pollinators like bees.

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Wild About Saskatoon says the clover lawn idea is a good first step toward supporting the local environment from your own back or front yard.

“Growing clover instead of a line of grass came out of that awareness that pollinators need support,” said Candace Savage with Wild About Saskatoon. “And to have the world blooming instead of just lushly green is a step towards that.”

But with around 300 species of wild bees that she says are picky eaters feeding on different vegetation, swapping one monoculture for another isn’t beneficial

“In order to support that whole range, those almost 300 different species of wild bees, we need to have a diversity of plants,” she said.

Confrey agrees, and he says a hybrid grass/clover lawn seems to provide the best of both worlds.

“Clover, is going to be more resistant to certain conditions and diseases than grasses, and grass will have different resistance and survivability than clover,” Confrey told CTV News. “So the blend is always the best way to go.”