A big garden is great for giving your dog space to run around and play, but the sad truth is that grass lawns and dog urine simply do not mix.
Instagram user Bindi, Rosie & Taylor (@bindisbucketlist) has the perfect solution for dog owners tearing their hair out over keeping their grass green — and it involves an easily grown plant.
The scoop
In an Instagram reel, Bindi, Rosie & Taylor share how they keep their backyard looking fresh and green — even with two dogs using it — by planting clover.
Several video clips show a luscious emerald-green lawn with no urine spots visible. This is because small patches of clover leaves are intermixed with the grass to cover up any areas that the dogs' urine would have killed.
Bindi, Rosie & Taylor specifically chose to plant Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens). While white clover is listed as an invasive plant species by the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States, it is considered to have naturalized across much of North America.
Bindi, Rosie & Taylor says they bought the small yellow seeds from Canadian Tire and then scattered them wherever they found gaps in their lawn. They used grass cuttings from mowing the lawn to help embed the seeds.
"It was one of the best decisions we ever made," they say in the clip. "It works really well because it is resistant to urine spotting."
How it's helping
As well as being resilient against dog urine, white clover is extremely winter-hardy and able to withstand floods — though it does struggle in drought conditions.
White clover is a popular plant with bees, which means planting it can help your garden to support biodiversity.
Manicured lawns may require homeowners to pull up weeds and flowering plants, which leaves pollinating insects with very little nectar to work with and therefore contributes to their depleting populations.
According to rewilding experts Yardzen, allowing plants like white clover (which are traditionally considered to be weeds) to flower will support these endangered pollinating insects.
Bindi, Rosie & Taylor noted in the video's comments that they do not need to worry about bumblebees stinging their dogs because they mow their lawn once every two weeks.
What people are saying
Instagram users have been complimenting Bindi, Rosie & Taylor's lawn, emphasizing its importance for protecting local wildlife.
"Clover is a win win for everyone and everything," one user commented. "It's a nitrogen fixer that helps build healthy soil, it's bee friendly."
"We're doing this in one area of our garden this week to help keep weeds at bay," another added. "Some nettles have been creeping in which the dogs occasionally step on and get very irritated feet. We don't use weed killer in our garden because it's harmful to dogs but clover is brilliant for that."
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