When to sow a clover lawn for an effortless, wildlife-friendly garden – the bees will love you for it

If you’re looking for a wilder, eco-friendly take on a traditional lawn this year, it’s worth thinking about when to sow a clover lawn.

While some of us find ourselves wondering whether you should get rid of clover in a lawn, others celebrate its benefits for bees and other wildlife as a great low-maintenance lawn alternative.

If that sounds like something you want to get on board with, there’s a huge window for sowing clover seed – and you can get started right now.

Where to buy clover seeds

• B&Q: Buy Gardeners Dream Small-Leaf White Clover Seeds.
• Amazon: Sow Pronto Seed White Clover Seeds for the bees.

If you’re wondering when to sow a clover lawn, you’re right on time – you can schedule the task into your lawn care calendar this month.

‘Clover lawns have many benefits, and one of them is that the seeds can be sown in spring, summer and autumn,’ says Chris McIlroy, grass expert at The Grass People.

Since spring is in full swing, it’s the perfect time to order some clover seeds and get sowing.

‘Clover will take around six weeks to become established, so now is a good time to start putting the work in,’ Chris explains.

As long as you avoid any lingering frosts (and those are a risk for many fruits, vegetables and flowers that you can plant in April, too), your clover seed should stand a good chance of success.

‘The best time to sow a clover lawn in the UK is between March and September, as this is when temperatures are usually at least 8°C through the day and night,’ explains Graham Smith MCIHort, gardening expert at LBS Horticulture.

‘A freshly sown clover lawn will need a consistent temperature of 8°C or higher for a minimum of two weeks after sowing. It should also not be exposed to any extreme weather, such as heatwaves, flooding or snow.’

Chris has a few tips to help those of us sowing a clover lawn for the first time.

'Clover seeds germinate and grow best when sown 5-10mm beneath the soil surface,' he says. 'A handy guide is to cover the seed with soil the equivalent to the thickness of three stacked £1 coins.'

We love that analogy! You'll also need to give the area some TLC after sowing.

'Don’t forget to continue to water the sown area deeply and daily until the clover is established, unless we experience a period of prolonged rainfall,' says Chris. 'Once it has germinated, water it frequently for the next six weeks to keep it green and prevent it from drying out.'

Can you add clover to an existing lawn?

Absolutely! Just as you can learn how to overseed a lawn, you can add clover seed into the mix, too. As Chris mentioned, it's a good idea to cover the seed with a layer of soil to improve germination rates.

Will you be sowing a clover lawn this year?