Kids Corner
Hunt for a Four-Leaf Clover…..
(Sheltand, Scotland dialect known as “ smora”)
from Jane Byrne
As a child I would spend hours with my friends hunting for a four-leaf clover. It was a challenge, but also it triggered my imagination and thoughts of fairies and good luck. Some believe that if you carried one around with you, it would bring you luck (as the Irish believe) or it would give you the ability to see fairies.
Four-leaf clovers are not fiction, they do exist, although the four-leaf clover is rare. It is believed that you have one-in-a-twenty-five-thousand chance of finding one, although others believe it is more like one-in-a-million chance of finding one!
Four-leaf clover is found in small quantities in Southern Australia.
At the moment I’m in Shetland, Scotland and the clover flowering here at the moment is one big beautiful splash of color, in a variety of colors that I never knew existed. Most clumps are growing on the sides of the roads. If in the paddock it would have been eaten by the sheep and cattle as it is a wonderful nutritional source of protein.
Clover flowers from winter through to summer. In Australia I have only ever seen white clover. In Australia clover is commonly regarded as a weed. It always seems to pop up in manicured lawns or garden beds. Clover here in Shetland ranges in colours from white, pale pink, red and even yellow. It’s a wonderful source of food for our pollinators, especially our bees who love pollen and nectar. Farmers often add it as part of the pasture seed mix to be grown for grazing livestock.
We have talked about honey before and we know that honey can come in many flavours, depending on what type of vegetation the bees visit. Clover honey can be purchased in Australia from Beechworth Honey Company.
In a world where we are now seeing more artificial turf and synthetic surfaces in our schools and local parks, it is so important for us to pass down these wonderful memories and ideas from our childhood to our young children and grandchildren.
Now for the challenge, can you find a four-leaf clover? If you do, we would love to see it so send your photo in to operations@opengardensvictoria.org.au
Past activities