According to legend, four-leaf clovers are incredibly lucky and they help you to see the fairies in your garden. One leaf for fame and one leaf for health, one leaf for a faithful lover and one leaf for wealth!
If you’ve had trouble finding a four-leaf clover, take Jackie French’s advice and grow your own. Jackie grows the ornamental four-leaf clover, which she says gives her all the luck she needs.
Jackie also uses her four-leaf clovers to wish other people good luck. She presses them between sheets of paper in a heavy book and leaves them there to dry for about a week. Pressed four-leafed clovers can then be pasted onto letters or cards or used to adorn and bring good luck to almost anything. Let your imagination run wild!
Ornamental four-leaf clover (Trifolium repens ‘Purpurascens Quadrifolium’)
Also known as the purple shamrock, this hardy, ornamental clover has purple and green leaves of predominantly 4 leaflets. It is grown mainly for its foliage, but it produces creamy white, pom-pom flowers as an added bonus.
Ornamental four-leaf clover likes a position in full sun to part shade, and is very easy to grow as long as it has adequate moisture. It can be grown in tubs and pots, at the front of borders, over paving or as a groundcover.
(Note: Jackie grows her ornamental four-leaf clover in a pot. This is a good idea, as some clovers have a tendency to become weedy and can take over lawns.)
Further information
Jackie’s Ornamental four-leaf clover (Trifolium repens ‘Purpurascens Quadrifolium’) is very difficult to find, but it is easily propagated from a friend’s plant. Or you may spot some in a lawn. Simply remove a section including about 1-2cm of the soil below containing the roots and plant it in a pot.
Regular white clover (Trifolium repens) the usual three-leaf clover and newer varieties such as crimson clover with pretty reddish-pink flowers, are readily available to buy as seeds from nurseries and online. You can also grow these lucky perennials in pots or hanging baskets to enjoy. While these generally have three leaves if you look closely you’ll find some lucky four-leaf clovers amongst them!