Clover

There is a substantial benefit for clover in your lawn.  Clover in your lawn is a very good food source for the bees. Clover roots have nodules and colonies of symbiotic bacteria, which release more nitrogen into the soil than the plant uptakes, making it a very beneficial soil nitrogen fixer!

Clover is also well-appreciated for its sweet scent! Although non-native, clover was introduced to the  United States in the early colonial days.  Clover is native to the Mediterranean.

Fun fact, before around the early 1950s, clover seed was common to find up to 5% clover seed in bags lawn seed due to its beneficial properties.

That stopped when lobbyists in the chemical companies waged aggressive campaigns against clover and deemed it to be what we now call a weed. Another major benefit of clover is its ability to outcompete many broadleaf weeds as a ground cover with a high tolerance to foot traffic.

Clover is a versatile plant that has a variety of uses. It is a popular choice for pastures and hayfields because it is a high-quality forage for livestock. As a legume, it is able to fix nitrogen from the air into the soil, which can help improve soil fertility and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers.

Clover is also used for erosion control on slopes and other areas prone to erosion, it is an important source of nectar for honeybees and other pollinators and some varieties of clover are used as ornamentals in lawns and gardens.