Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: St. Patrick’s Day and the Shamrock
What’s St. Patricks day without shamrocks? Shamrock is a kind of slurred pronunciation of the Irish word seamrog, meaning little clover. It’s really White Clover also known as trifolium repens. A 3 leafed plant that WAS thought of as a weed but is now a great lawn replacement!
It’s also related to oxalis, also called shamrock. I have a super cool video of how the plant closes it’s leaves at night on my facebook page!
Back to the history, it was the Celtic druids who started the shamrock on its path to Irish glory! They believed the no. 3 to be a perfect number and, as such, to have inherent mystical powers. No one is quite sure why they believed this but it is possible the number signified the totality of the past, present and future, or sky, earth and underground. Whatever the reason, the Celts attached great significance to the number.
It’s also known to have represented the rebirth of Spring and later became Ireland’s national symbol of pride. In ancient days the Celts believed that white clover warded off evil spirits (it DOES attract pollinators). With it’s 3 leaves it also became a symbol of the Holy Trinity to early Christians.
White clover is considered a beneficial plant to organic lawn care because it fixes nitrogren. Simply put, it keeps your soil in better shape than your lawn does. White clover is an excellent forage crop for livestock and is considered survival food due to it’s high protein and abundance.
Eat Your Weeds -White Clover Recipes
Wild Clover Rice
2 cups rice, brown or wild
2 cups fresh clover flowerettes, plucked from the flowerheads
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1. Cook rice in 6 cups water until done
2. While the rice is still hot, mix in clover flowers, butter and salt
3. Serve hot
* Add a 1/2 cup honey and chopped nuts to make a sweet dish
Clover Salad
2 cups rice
3 Tbsp olive oil
6 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
6 scallions, minced
1 cup walnuts (black, hickory, or English)
1 cup chopped dried fruit (try raisins, craisins, dates, or apricots)
2 cups clover flowerettes, plucked from flowerheads
1. Cook rice in 6 cups water until done– do not stir while cooking or cooling
2. Let rice cool completely to avoid stickiness
3. Add all above ingredients and mix well
4. Chill and serve, cold or room temperature
Sweet Almond Clover Biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup almonds, chopped fine
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups clover flowerettes, plucked from the flowerhead
1. Put flour, baking powder, and almonds in food processor.
2. Add butter and whiz again until it forms a crumbly mixture
3. Add remaining ingredients until dough forms a lump
4. Shape into biscuits and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 450 for
10-15 minutes or until golden brown
5. Serve hot with butter and jam
* Please do NOT consume weeds that have been sprayed with herbicides such as weed and feed
For today, I’ll believe in shamrocks and leprechauns with pots of gold at the end of some distant rainbow. And sometimes, you find a 4-leaf clover!
