-Thanks

Bill

I disagree - white clover is a eye sore to me. :)

Earlier in the spring I used weed wacker to control
it. Also dumped tons of coffee grounds to choke it ..etc.

Bill

YARD WORK - AS VIEWED FROM HEAVEN
. (overheard in a conversation between God and St. Francis):
God: Hey, St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature;

what in the world is going on down there in the U.S.?

What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistles and the stuff
I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan.
Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought, and
multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms
attract butterflies, honeybees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected
to see a vast garden of color by now. All I see are patches of green.
. .
St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. They are called the Suburbanites.
They started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill them and
replace them with grass.
. .
God: Grass? But it is so boring, it's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies,
bees or birds, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures.
Do these Suburbanites really want grass growing there?
. .
St. Francis: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it has grown a little, they cut it....
sometimes two times a week.
. .
God: They cut it? Do they bale it like hay?
..
. St. Francis: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
. .
God: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?
. .
St. Francis: No sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.
. .
God: Now let me get this straight...they fertilize it to make it grow and
when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?
. .
St. Francis: Yes, sir.
. .
God: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain
and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work.
. .
St. Francis: You aren't going to believe this Lord, but when the grass stops growing
so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue
to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
. .
God: What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke
of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and
shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to
. keep the moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves
become compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.
. .
St. Francis: You'd better sit down, Lord. As soon as the leaves fall, the Suburbanites rake
them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.
. .
God: No way! What do they do to protect the shrubs and tree roots in the winter to
keep the soil moist and loose?
. .
St Francis: After throwing the leaves away, they go out and buy something called mulch.
They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.
. .
God: And where do they get this mulch?
. .
St. Francis: They cut down the trees and grind them up to make mulch.
. .
God: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. Saint Catherine,
you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?
. .
St. Catherine: 'Dumb and Dumber,' Lord. It's a really stupid movie about . . . .
. .
God: Never mind -- I think I just heard the whole story from Saint Francis!

As far as the clover I don't mind it in my lawn but the kids sure do hate it when they step on a bee. OUCH!! So I have to find a way to eliminate it around the swing set. Other then that I've been letting it grow. I tried to just pick the flowers until this fall when I plan to plug, reseed, and compost the yard which should help the grass over take it but that failed when it started growing faster then I could pick it so I had to use a small amount of spay (I hate that).

As far as dandelions I knew someone that made honey from them. I hate huney but some people said it was good.

But, then again, I guess they wouldn't get my "eccentric" mindset either ;-)

Michelle

I'm actually going to rip out my grass and put in clover. I don't have the time to fertilize picky grass that will just decide to turn yellow and die in the summer, anyway. I'd rather have beautiful, luscious clover.

But unless you feel the need to get rid of every last leaf of clover, I would recommend establishing conditions in your lawn that are favorable for grass and unfavorable for clover, so that the grass will outcompete the clover without you having to do the work of trying to kill the clover plant by plant.

Nitrogen fertilizer is one strategy - grass likes it and clover dislikes it. I also seem to recall reading that clover and grass like different mowing heights and different watering practices; I'm failing to find that source now, but it could be a worthwhile area to research.

As one other concern, is your lawn a suitable place for the grass that you're tring to grow? For example, has tree shade increased over the years, so that it might be worthwhile to seed with a shade-tolerant grass?