Until the 1950s, white clover was included in every lawn-seed mixture you could buy, and having a lush, clover-infused lawn was thing of pride. These days, with the heavy usage of weed killers, clover is seen as an enemy of turf grass. It shouldn't be, though, and there are lots of reasons why.

White clover, Trifolium repens , is a member of the pea and bean family -- a legume -- and legumes have the unique ability to take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that other plants can use. Folks who have lawns woven with clover have a source of built-in fertilizer. Seeding clover into a lawn was once a way to provide nitrogen to turf without ever needing to add fertilizers. A lawn consisting of a mere 5 percent clover is provided with all the nitrogen the turf grass needs. Granted, you have to let the clippings lie and not collect them or rake them up, but mulching mowers are good at doing this without leaving anything noticeable behind. Not only does clover provide nitrogen through the breakdown of these clippings, but through the natural decomposition of its roots.

Clover is great at crowding out weeds, it stands up well to foot traffic, it reduces thatch buildup, it decomposes rapidly when mowed, it provides erosion control, and it is prized by honeybees (who are having a rough go of it now). Which brings me to another reason why folks seem to dislike clover: they worry about their kids getting stung by bees. Honeybees, unlike yellow jackets and other wasps, are not aggressive and will not sting unless threatened or stepped on. Have your kids wear shoes when they play outside. My son is outside all day in the summer and has never been stung, because he always wears shoes. Clover blossoms are attractive to other pollinators and beneficial insects, too. These critters help in the vegetable garden by controlling pests and pollinating fruits and veggies.

Another advantage of clover in the lawn is the plant's ability to bring diversity to what would otherwise be a monoculture. This diversity detracts pests and diseases, increases drought resistance, and encourages turf grass to grow deeper roots. With a mixed lawn, irrigation is reduced or eliminated and pesticides become a thing of the past.

If you are still turned off by the presence of clover in the lawn, there's a new variety out there that might change your mind. Microclover is an introduction from DLF Trifolium, an international purveyor of lawn seed mixtures. This clover has been bred to be far smaller than traditional clover and to have smaller and fewer flowers while still providing all the benefits of full-sized clover. It was developed in Denmark in the early 2000s and often is used in European landscapes. It, too, is drought-tolerant and withstands foot traffic. The plants are so small, the company claims that from a distance of 10 feet away, you can't even spot the clover intermingled with the grass. Microclover seed blends are sold by Earth Turf and can be purchased online at www.earthturf.com and under the brand name Master Green on Amazon.com.

According to Irish tradition, the three leaves of clover represent the Holy Trinity and a fourth leaf brings good luck. Four-leaf clovers are a genetic anomaly that occurs during leaf development. And they aren't as hard to find as you might think. Over the course of his 25-year sentence, a Pennsylvania prisoner managed to collect about 80,000 four-leaf clovers by scouring the prison grounds. My son and I found four within a five-minute period the other day. And as for the promised good luck, well, we do indeed feel very lucky to be blessed with such a healthy, clover-woven lawn.

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