Clover: Weed or Flower?

Because of the dry summer we have been having (save the last two days of non-stop rain), our backyard and frontyard lawns have been taking a hit. In fact, parts of our backyard lawn—a small 12X20 ft. section—is now dead. Last week while surveying the damage, I had an idea: why not seed some clover? In addition to producing beautiful spring flowers, clover is an excellent nitrogen fixer, and above all, a top choice for honeybee pollinators. Sounds like a great grass alternative right? Apparently the City of Regina doesn't think so, or at least this is what Morgan was told while trying to buy some the other day.

After all of the stuff that I've heard about declines in worldwide honeybee populations and their importance to our food system, I find it really puzzling that the City would ban such a plant. Morgan said that the reason it was banned was because it's invasive... What is meant by invasive? Oxford says it is "to spread very quickly, undesirably and harmfully." If this is the definition of invasive then I would say that grass is invasive, not clover. When you think about all the water that is wasted and chemicals applied to lawns used throughout our city, should not grass be outlawed?

A couple of years ago someone told me that at the turn of the 20th century, one would be hard pressed to find a lot of grass growing in peoples yards. Reason? People needed that land to grow food. Then, as society "progressed"—another term that will deserve a future blog to unpack—the presence of grass was a sign of status. If you had a grass that meant you didn't need to grow your own food. Now everyone grows grass, even though its status symbol has faded.

Another example of how language can spin meaning are the words weed and flower. Why is it, that certain plants are called weeds and others aren't? If I came from a background that saw dandelions as a beautiful flowers with many uses, would the weed word association even occur to me? Just something to think about.

Anyways, I ended up planting the forbidden clover. I will keep you updated.