Those of you who visited the Chelsea about 8 years ago will remember that almost every garden had a planting of red clover; here in the countryside around Viterbo the farmers use red clover as a means of adding goodness to the soil; it is also very pretty!
we have a red clover but it is used to draw in deer for hunters….the woods that used to stand on my land were planted with red clover and now they are weeds…I am considering digging them and turning them under to see if they enrich the soil….yours are lovely
I’m thinking of sowing some under the olives for the same reason, Christina
The meadows look beautiful and clover will certainly enrich the soil. The UK Bumble Bee Conservation Trust is also encouraging this idea to help the bumble bees, is this happening in Italy too or is this a traditional idea?
I am pretty sure the farmers have always used clover here to enrich the soil. There is not such a problem with loss of bees in Italy because they don’t have such a tradition of using insecticides. I have a huge variety of bees who visit my garden. Christina
How wonderful to read ‘there is not such a tradition of using insecticides’. There’s hope!
I love clover! They use it here as well, and I guess they give it to cows then. I have some garden varieties of clover in my garden: taller and bigger than the wild one but yet very wild looking. I need to get more of them, fortunately they are discreetly self seeding around…
I have a packet of red clover seeds to sow under my Carvelo Nreo
That first photo is just beautiful – the colours and the textures.
I love red clover, it’s a great sign that a farm is organic. There have been studies to show that cows grazing on clover rich fields produce milk that is much higher in omega 3s and is much better for us.
I didn’t know that, I think the clover is cut here to make ‘hay’ for the cattle. Christina
I have some wild clover growing on the side of my house that I am about to cut down and add to compost pile.
I am trying to start a medicinal flower/plant bed. I really want to add red clover, but I have heard it will take over. I have also heard that it is a great natural mulch to keep weeds down. Does anyone have experiences with red clover in a flower/plant bed they can share with me?
It will take over, here it is grown in fields to provide nitrogen, its roots are nitrogen fixing. In a flower bed it would be almost impossible to keep it under control. Hope that helps, Christina
Thanks for the info!