this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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Grass isn't inherently a bad idea for a lawn, it's just specific to your individual climate. The main issue is that most of the grasses people plant are native to much cooler climates in Europe.
I have a grass lawn, but it's a native Buffalo grass. It's much more drought tolerant than clover, flowers a couple times a year, doesn't require any maintenance, and provides a natural habitat for native wildlife.
Clover isn't actually much better than most grasses if you are trying to support the natural biodiversity. It's not native to north America, and thus only supports a small range of wildlife that's adapted to it.
A Lot of America's natural ground cover is actually low lying shrubs and flowering plants.
I just and to add in here that supporting your non-native bees with clover is still worthwhile. Clovers can be a good add on if you want a traditional lawn
Clover is non-native in my area. I've witnessed native bumblebees visiting clover, but they show a much stronger preference for larger forbs, both native and non-native. For one, they can't nap on clover (too small, I assume, even when allowed to grow to full size). Additionally, I haven't seen pollinators other than honeybees and bumblebees at the clover, whereas other flowers attract dozens of various species (as well as their predators, creating a fuller ecosystem).
For sure native forbs can attract more. Its not an either or, but rather a both situation. Pollinator friendly Forbs where you can and clover within your turf lawn. I personally also have been adding self-heal (mild successfully) and creeping thyme (not that successfully) into my lawn. Its a move on all front situation in my yard
For sure, I didn't mean to negate your comment (more of a "yes and"). However I do think it is important in these conversations to acknowledge that clover isn't a great option for yards when it comes to supporting pollinators (native or otherwise), just a better one. That said, for folks who have to have a grass yard (for rental agreement, HOA, etc reasons), clover is a great add-in. I prefer the native self-heal myself, but it has similar purple flowers and growth pattern to the invasive creeping charlie, so clover is probably the appealing, stealthier choice of the two in many places.