groundcover layer
white clover
trifolium repens
the living floor of the food forest: fixes nitrogen with every mowing, feeds bees all summer, and never leaves soil bare to the rain.
functions
field guide
native to
Europe and central Asia
height
0.1–0.2 m
spread
creeping by stolons
hardiness
RHS H7 · USDA 3–10
light
full sun
moisture
moderate
soil
most, improves them all
uses
in the kitchen
flowers and leaves, in small amounts
harvest
grown as a living ground cover rather than harvested
propagation
seed; then it spreads itself by runners
season
open the calendar →grower's notes
memberspropagation, guild role, and deeper ecology for white clover — the members' view.
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relationships — grows well with
see white clover on the relationship map →the takeaway
start a guild around white clover
plant these together and the relationships on this page start working for you — feeders, protectors, and cover, layer by layer.
- groundcover
- white clover — the anchor
- canopy
- apple
works inside: swale on contour · guild ring around a fruit tree · living mulch · hügelkultur mound · three sisters planting · sheet mulching · orchard meadow