Benefits from Planting Clover

  

If you prefer the natural method for fertilizing your soil and lawn grass then grow clover. Clover will fix the nitrogen that feeds your grass and it will help in maintaining moisture and stop weeds from taking over your lawn.   We grow clover and find that our lawn is easier to care for because it doesn’t require water or fertilizer.

Here is a photo of the clover growing in our side yard.  Note the grasses and clover look lush and green.  My husband mows it and we walk on the clover and it bounces right back.

 

What we like about clover is that it stays green. Also, the nectar-rich flowers are very fragrant and they are beneficial to honey bees. The clover attracts wildlife; whitetail deer, wild turkey, and wild rabbit. (all eat the clover but they eat the tops and don't remove the roots or the plant) 

We planted Dutch white clover seeds in the early spring in our side yard which gets sun in the morning and part- sun to shade in the afternoon.  My husband raking the entire area to remove the dead grasses and loosen the soil.  He then mixed clover seed (which is very small) with sand and spread it by hand in the planting area.  The seed and sand were covered with a light layer of topsoil and then watered well after the seeds were planted.

We watered daily until clover had grown in. Know that once the clover is established it does not require regular watering. Clover is drought tolerant and will stay green during extreme heat and cooler seasons.  

In August when our grass turns brown due to the extreme heat, the Dutch white clover seems to thrive.

Clover grows well in sun, part sun, and shade.

Japanese Honeysuckle a Summertime Favorite

 Long-lived and somewhat invasive Japanese honeysuckle is a summertime favorite flowering vine.

This vigorous climbing vine is easy to grow in sun or part shade and is not fussy about the soil.  Grow next to a fence, a rock wall, or a trellis.  The fragrant tubular-shaped yellow or white flowers will bloom in late spring and will continue to bloom throughout the summer months then in fall, the fruit will appear. This fruit is eaten by birds.

The honeysuckle will become invasive if you do not prune it when needed.  In the full sun, this vine will grow very fast and put out many runners that will smother and kill any flowers or shrubs that are growing in the path of the vine.  So it's best to control the honeysuckle by pruning by hand to keep it from taking over.

Know that my neighbor grows honeysuckle on the backside of her fence. The vines are very thick and in the winter this semi-evergreen vine does provide shelter for warblers, finches, and other birds. So if you enjoy watching birds and butterflies you should grow a Japanese Honeysuckle vine on a trellis or fence.

Here are my photographs of the Japanese Honeysuckle

Stunning Sorbet Peony (Paeonia lactiflora)

 If you like peony flowering shrubs then you will love the stunning sorbet peony  (Paeonia lactiflora).  This fragrant beauty was discovered by Luc Klinkhamer in 1987 growing in a South Korean garden and in 2006 I bought it at Brecks Nursery to grow in my garden.

Breck's Nursery sent me a Sorbet peony bare root that I planted in the fall. The soil was well-drained and amended with compost to make it fertile. I grew this peony 2 feet away from my rock wall in a sunny location with the part sun in the afternoon.

This sorbet peony did not bloom the first three years but thereafter it bloomed every mid-spring.  From my experience, I have found that peonies need time to grow, and be established in your garden.  

All of the peonies that grow in my garden have needed a few dormant years (no blooms).  If you have the time to wait then you will be awarded. The sorbet will produce many buds and sensational flowers every spring.  This plant is well worth the investment and the wait.

The sorbet is my favorite peony.  I love this showy fragrant flower with pink and white petal layers. Know that the sorbet peony will provide garden interest in the spring, summer, and fall when the leaves will turn a yellow color at the end of summer and is an eye-appealing plant throughout the autumn season.

I have never seen the Sorbet at my local garden centers.  So if you are interested I would suggest that you contact Brecks.com to see if they are selling this peony for fall season planting.

Here are photographs of the sorbet peony that grows in my yard and garden.