On 28/07/14 15:59, Chris Hogg wrote:
On 28 Jul 2014 12:18:43 GMT, "AL_n" wrote:

Hello comrades,

I'm not a lawn expert, but I've noticed that some parts of my lawn resist
drying out during summer droughts. These areas have a lot of clover mixed
in with the grass - so I assume the clover that is beneficent factor. Is
this because the clover leaves shield the underlying soil and grass from
the sun's rays? If so, I'd like to add some extra clover to the areas of
lawn that don't have any clover. What is a good strain of clover for this
purpose? I'd like to buy some seed and just cast it over my lawn in the
hope that some of it will germinate and take root.

I've used something called Eco-Lawn seed in the past, which contains
something they call micro-clover. This clover just has leaves that are
about half the size of common clover. I don't know what the actual strain
is. If anyone knows, I'd be glad to know.

Many thanks,

Al
There was a thread on the best clover for lawns, initiated by Tim
Watts at the end of May. See http://tinyurl.com/mzf7go4
(saves us all re-writing what we said at the time!)


And I planted some random mixture of red and white.

Some is OK - some is *very* tall (4-5"). However, it is not a disaster -
it mows OK and is quite pretty. Interestingly, if I allow it to get
tall, the slow worms and frogs *love* it as even in the recent baking
heat, it remains moist at soil level. Not exactly ornamental though...

However, Chris Hogg recommended:

Trifolium repens

and next year when I scarify the **** out of the lawn again, I might
chuck some of that down.

Here's a random supplier:

http://wildseed.co.uk/species/category/other-seeds

Thought I do like the flowers on the red clover I used - which looks
like it might have been Trifolium pratense.