A White Clover lawn, Rhubarb, and catching the water

Thatch rake, and exposed soil

I'm not your ordinary American gardener, my focus is on maintaining a low impact, and not using chemicals. We don't use our front lawn for any specific purpose, other than somewhere for the postal worker to step on our Crocus, so I was interested in planting something completely different. After doing some research on the Internet, we agreed to sow White Clover in the lawn. Clover has many benefits. It stays around 6 inches tall, looks real nice, provides lots of pollen for the honey bees, and you can search for four leaf clovers when you're bored. Before the lawn chemical companies convinced everyone that if it wasn't a single blade of grass, it was a weed and needed to be killed, most lawns were White Clover.

Yesterday I took a pound of White Clover seeds I purchased from Amazon.com (see box on left), and mixed it with soil I had excavated from our backyard to install a sidewalk. I then used a thatch rake to remove the thatch from the lawn, exposing soil. Once the soil was exposed, I lightly spread the seed and soil mix across the lawn, and watered it. A pound covers about 300 square feet if it's spread consistently. I'll post pictures as it grows. 

My next door neighbor asked what I was doing, and I explained. He said he has the lawn service spray his lawn to kill that kind of stuff. How will I mow it? I told him I won't mow it. He had a strange look on his face, some incongruence that he will carry with him for days. Of course he has a Zoysia grass lawn, which if you walk barefoot on it, you are sent a medallion as a testament to your ability to endure pain. He also uses his shop vacuum to pick up acorns. 

Barrel with diverter open

My next project was to install one of our rain barrels, so I can start capturing the free water off our roof to water our plants. Last year I replaced the downspouts, and had all the water run into the barrel, and out of an overflow. The overflow was inadequate, and the water would just pour off the top, scaring my honey into thinking it would run down our foundation and into the basement (my man cave). So I found a rain diverter online, and purchased two of them. These can be opened to divert water into the barrel, and when the barrel fills, it flips up, sending the water down the tube into the runoff. I installed one to feed the rain barrel, and will install the other rain barrel and diverter in early May. A typical rainy day can fill a barrel in about 15 minutes, depending on your roof area, and this water can last days for watering your gardens. 

The secluded corner

My honey recently came up with a landscape plan, and purchased a bunch of Witch Hazel, Beauty Berries, and Roses. I had to move a 1/2 cord of firewood to make space for the plantings. With this accomplished, I planted the first Witch Hazel. 

I also planted a Rhubarb plant we have been toting around in a pot for two years. I love Rhubarb! I also started to define and turn the veggie garden. I was able to get a few shovels full of compost from the Earth Machine we installed last fall to enrich the soil. 

First Witch Hazel

Today I will finish the plantings, and get out for my half marathon training run. I will attempt to post another blog later today with an update. 

On Friday I had the last five of the sixteen replacement windows for the first floor delivered. I am still trying to figure out when to install them. I may try and do one per night this week. 

Grow Rhubarb, Grow!

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