By Debby Looney, gardening expert

Seamair óg, or Shamrock, must surely be our featured plant this week.

Until last year, I had never taken much notice of Shamrock as a plant, however, in a fit of curiosity I bought little live Shamrock plants in a number of outlets to see what they would actually grow into.

We all know the religious story behind St Patrick and the little three leaved plant, but I was curious to know whether there is one specific plant which equates to Shamrock. After doing some research, I have concluded that it could have been any of a number of different plants which St Patrick held in his hand. The word Shamrock derives from the Irish ‘seamair' meaning clover, and ‘óg' meaning young. The most common clovers in this country would be white clover, Trifolium repens, and meadow trefoil, or Trifolium dubium. However, red clover, or Trifolium pratense, is also a contender! One of the oldest herbal books, Gerard's Herbal, published in 1597 identified Irish Shamrock to be meadow trefoil, while the Irish botanist, Caleb Threlkeld, identified it as white field clover in 1726.

MEADOW PLANTING

Whichever one St Patrick might have used, it is clear to me that the growers of Shamrock are still not in agreement which it was either! Out of 10 plants I bought last year, I have three meadow trefoil, which are the prettiest green, and flower yellow. These are ideal for meadow planting as insects love them. I have one red clover which grows to a height of 30cm and is ideal in ditches and wild areas. I have one Persian clover, a slightly soft, tall, hairy plant with carmine coloured flowers. This is often included in wildflower mixtures as it is pretty and has a long flowering season. It is the least hardy of these clovers. I ended up with two oxalis which are wood sorrel, and finally three white clover. White clover is an ideal companion plant to lawn grass and I would encourage anyone setting lawn seed to include it in their seed mix. White clover stays low and can be mown along with the grass. It has white flowers, which are a rich source of nectar. It is not particularly invasive, and will not take over the lawn. It does however benefit your grass greatly by ‘setting' nitrogen, thus making nitrogen available to the grass, making it richer, stronger and greener. This also means you do not need to fertilise your lawn as much.

So, if you have bought a pot of Shamrock, be sure to repot it and let it grow a little, then find it a nice spot in your garden, because, regardless of its historical accuracy, all Shamrock has great merit!