I'm slowly transforming my lawn from typical grass into a clover meadow, check it out:
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Here is how the front yard looked when we moved in. There were two sections or beds; the smaller one on the right had peonies and coneflowers while the larger one on the left contained woodchips. The entire area underneath the woodchips (nearly half of the yard) was plastic! Non permeable, not draining heavy plastic!
The large bush to the left had to be cut out and the tree in the middle had signs of rot at the base, so it was removed as well. I personally dug up every bit of plastic myself!
Here we are as of today - after everything is past blooming and we are in the middle of a drought/ heat wave! I should have thought to take photos in the spring or early summer when things were lush and full of flowers, but here we are. You'll just have to use your imagination!
The smaller bush to the left of the door is still there. To the left of that a baby boxwood has replaced the old bush and a climbing rose is on a trellis to the left of that. Can you sort of see the two heights of clover? The middle of the lawn is Dutch Clover (shorter with white flowers) and the taller patch is Red Clover (about a foot or so tall and with purple flowers). We chose to seed the lawn with clover to provide lots of food for the local pollinators, and it's taking over the old grass really well. It was so pretty when it was in bloom and the rabbits love it!
You can't see the lamp post, Coneflowers or the Peony bushes in this photo, but they are still there among the section of taller Red Clover. I'm working at filling in the Red Clover section with more of these plants as well as others that coordinate with the pinks and purples of what is already there.
I'm starting with seeds and baby plugs, so everything is pretty small right now. These up close photos will help you see what all is mixed in the Red Clover:
Peony and Coneflowers
I've got quite a few babies of both of these that are doing their best!
Sage
I chose to add in Sage because it blooms occasionally with a purple flower as well as provides another textured green.
Mums & Asters
These babies were sooo tiny when I planted them last fall. As you can see from the top photo, the rabbits had a feast almost immediately, but the plants have come back strong. I can't wait to see them bloom in a few weeks.
Lavender
About half of these are doing well while the others are struggling. Part of the problem is that the closer to the sidewalk the plants get, the more in danger of dogs they are. Most of the neighbors are good about keeping their dogs exploration and bathroom time to the strips between the sidewalk and street, but there is one lady who lets her pup do whatever it wants. I'm not sure how to stop this from happening and any tips would be appreciated, dog pee is not good for my baby plants!
The good news is that I was pleasantly surprised to find out that even though lavender scented soaps and candles bother my allergies, the plant does not. I'm thinking that might be because the scent is coming from the oils of the plant as opposed to pollen. I've started putting cuttings of my Sage and Basil into vases in the kitchen now too 😄
I added a path through the taller Red Clover before the seeds went down. The bottom pic shows how well it's come in, almost completely choking out the unwanted weeds. I think one more application of clover seed next March should take care of the sparse areas.
I'm going to try and figure out more things I can plant so that there will always be something in bloom. The goal is a clover heavy meadow effect with lots of nectar sources for the bees. I want to attract butterflies and even hummingbirds if I can, but also try and stick with drought resistant plants. I am in zone 6 of the Midwestern US if anyone has any tips!
So that is where the front yard is as of now. Starting with seeds and baby plants is slow going, but it will get there eventually. In the meantime, my little friends and I are enjoying the clover 😁
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I hope you enjoyed this yard progress post, thanks for stopping by!
© Studio 27 by Jennifer Adams 2025
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