Not long ago, white clover was considered a fashionable lawn plant. Pleasant to look at, increased the nitrogen content of soils and helped to break up compaction. But since it didn't look like grass, it was classified as a weed. Today, as homeowners reconsider their definition of lawn weeds, clover is slowly regaining its status as a desirable lawn plant. If you were to look through a comprehensive list of weeds, you might be amazed at the plants you'd find there. But a weed is really best defined as a plant growing where you don't want it. That can include tall fescue growing amid Kentucky bluegrass and the drought-proof flowers of yarrow spreading beyond the flower border.

Because weeds are survivors, designed to make a go of conditions that don't favor most other plants, they will always be with us, looking for a chance to establish themselves. Rather than cast a disparaging eye on anything growing in the lawn other than your chosen lawn grass, you are better off accepting that diversity is a fact of nature. Your task is to decide which weeds you can tolerate and which must go, whether because they are too noticeable, overly aggressive, or a health hazard, like poison ivy.