What do shamrocks look like

And notably, this symbol specifically has three leaves, not four. This particular point has to do with the lore around St.

Patrick, who was a Christian missionary. The stories indicate that St. Patrick used the shamrock in his mission to demonstrate the principles of the Holy Trinity — three leaflets united by a common stalk. This mutation is quite rare, and Druids priests of the ancient Celts claimed that a four-leafed clover was a good luck charm against evil spirits. Similar to how St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, some people also believe that the four leaflets on a four-leafed clover represent faith, hope, love, and luck.

The cookies in our Lucky Clovers pack have four leaves, so they are technically clovers… but if any of your guests complain about them not being shamrocks, we have a simple solution: just bite off one of those leaflets for yourself. But clover is beneficial to lawns.

Moreover, it goes largely unquestioned that grass will serve as your "carpeting" for outdoor living. But perhaps it is time to ask some basic questions about lawn care and the landscaping needs in front of a house. Clover actually has many of the desired characteristics of an ideal lawn, such as its tolerance of drought, lasting green color, soil aerating qualities, softness, and more.

The reason clover lawns don't require fertilizing, as does grass, is that these plants are nitrogen fixers. They share this ability with other cover crops in the pea family. Clover snatches nitrogen out of the air, bringing this essential fertilizer down to earth by means of nitrogen-fixing bacteria living in nodes along the roots all at no cost to you, in terms either of money or maintenance.

You may also be wondering about clover's ability to aerate the soil, thus reducing concerns over soil compaction. Clover tolerates compacted soil better than lawn grass does. It has longer roots, enabling it to access water at deeper levels. Finally, a word about two of clover's other ideal qualities: its ability to attract honeybees, and the fact that clover lawns usually don't need to be mowed as often as do lawns composed of grass:.

But it's not a matter of all or nothing, and one advantage grass does have over a clover lawn is that it stands up better to heavy foot-traffic. Mixing clover and grass together in the same lawn may provide the best answer for most people. But there is a growing movement in the U. The steam that powers the movement against lawn grass comes from a number of sources, including:.

Having a clover lawn provides a solution to most of these problems. It is good for the environment, and it saves you money and labor. Experiment in a small area of your yard with a clover such as Miniclover a type of white clover to see if a clover lawn is right for you. Medland, Vicki. Nelson, Ernest Charles. Shamrock: Botany and History of an Irish Myth. Boethius Press, Hadden, Evelyn. Timber Press, Miller, G.

Moore and L. Bradley, NC State Extension, Agriculture and Air Quality. The stories may vary, but one thing is clear: when people all over the world hear the word shamrock, they think of Ireland.

Even though the national symbol of Ireland is a harp! Like its backstory, the botanical name of the shamrock is unclear. The early Irish countryside flourished with three-leaved clovers, three-leaved wood sorrels, and medicks.

Patrick story or which was featured in early Celtic artwork. Before the 17th century, plants were classified by their leaves rather than their flowers.

A four-leaf clover, though considered lucky, is not a shamrock. However, we do know that shamrocks have three leaves. In other words, shamrocks and four-leaf clovers pictured are not the same.