I'm drawn to signs of luck: horseshoes, elephants, special numbers like seven. With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I've been thinking more about four-leaf clovers. I did a little research to discover the difference between shamrocks and four-leaf clovers since I often see the terms used interchangeably. (I've been guilty of this myself.)
Here's the scoop: Shamrocks only have three leaves, while four-leaf clovers have ... you guessed it ... four! Four-leaf clovers are rare with estimates of there being one in a patch of 10,000 three-leaf clovers. It's a genetic mutation. (If you ever find one in the wild, look around because you'll probably find more in that same area.) Since they are so rare, it makes sense that you would consider yourself lucky if you found one!
You can plant clover that always sprouts four leaves, but it is not considered lucky. (You knew that already, right?) If you want to plant shamrocks, you can plant white clover or lucky clover, the latter being found in gift shops around St. Patrick's Day. White clover is classified by many as a weed commonly found in lawns. But like dandelions and other weeds, just because humans consider it unsightly doesn't mean that it's worthless. Bees love white clover and use it to produce clover honey.
Shamrocks (not four-leaf clovers) are closely associated with St. Patrick's Day because legend has is that St. Patrick used the three leaves of the clover to explain the three parts of the Holy Trinity (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Shamrocks are also widely considered an unofficial symbol of Ireland. (The Celtic harp is considered the official symbol.)
While the four-leaf clover does not have the same religious symbolism as the shamrock, some do associate the four parts of the clover with hope, love, faith, and good fortune.
Four-Leaf Clover Art and Shamrock Jewelry
Here's my four-leaf clover piece titled "We Are All Lucky":
I used several of my abstract acrylic and ink paintings for the different four-leaf clovers.
The design is available as a set of 10 postcards in my Etsy shop. The postcards have a black-and-white background, while the other products are on white. I admit that this is partially due to my learning curve when it comes to designing for objects of varying sizes and shapes. It was much easier for me to create the different sizes needed for different items if the background was just one color.
I also made some cute enamel shamrock earrings with sterling silver ear wires available in my Etsy shop.
Further Reading
Here are some of the articles I read for this blog post:
- Why Four-Leaf Clovers Are Considered Lucky (Reader's Digest)
- 7 Fun Facts About Four-Leaf Clovers (Better Homes and Gardens)
- Shamrocks and Four-Leaf Clovers: What's the Difference? (Alamanc)
- Shamrocks Are Everywhere on St. Patrick's Day (Time)
- Why Are Four-Leaf Clovers Lucky? (Parade)
- Edible and Abundant White Clover (Hobby Farms)