4-leaf Clovers: A Finder's Guide

Step 8 Collecting and Displaying

I made a simple press to collect my clovers using two pieces of scrap wood and 4 machine screws with wing nuts at each corner. I placed duct tape on the inside of the press to make it easier to slide the note cards i used to seperate and label the clovers in and out. Sticking them in between two cards in your wallet works as well, but be prepared to have your credit card number etched into a leaf.

For mounting, I used a poster-sized picture frame (~$10) and the back of the promotional poster that came in it. I glued my dried, pressed clovers using a dab of elmers glue. Try to keep the mount as air tight as possible, as the clover's will loose their color over time.

Last summer i put this skill to the test: i found 166 4-leaf clovers, 11 5-leaf, and 2 3.5 leafs. After mounting these, i found one patch while mowing the lawn containing multiple 7 and 8 leaf clovers, as well as a 10 leaf.

All of the clovers pictured in this instructable were found in about 20 minutes of searching. They're out there, in many mutant combinations, so get looking and get lucky!

Comments

[ReadsInTrees]

I have the same knack. The most-leafed clover I've found was 6 leaves.....8 is impressive! I used to keep and catalog every clover that I found....but after finding so many the novelty wore off. One day I found 76 in a kickball field. Nowadays, when I find 4-leafed clovers I often hand them to the next person I see (even if it's a stranger). If there's no one around I just tuck it into the nearest book. My bookshelf is littered with books that contain a clover somewhere, and many library books have been returned with a clover still inside. I figure someone else will be more thrilled with a four leafed clover than I, so why not spread the luck?

[rollch]

i freeze my clovers. If you do it right you can see all the leafs and thay stay good as new 

[plasticpopcorn4]

cool display!

[MaidenJane]

This reminds me of when I was a kid.  I always found 4-leaf clovers in my front yard - they seemed to grow in certain areas.  I've not had the same luck in my current yard, but we are loaded with clover....perhaps this summer.

[Punchabearinnamouf]

Dude I have the gift too, like my grandfather. I'll just be walking along and grab one and people are like "What are you doi.... WTF?!" Must be the Irish heritage! haha I find em all the time in our side yard but I live in the middle of nowhere

[57cadillac]

I'm ASIAN and I'm an expert clover hunter.

[Archive555]

I'm pretty sure he was just joking.

[puppetmaster2122]

could I put them in a card-collecting plastic case and tape off the entry way of the case?

[monmon435]

That would only work if you could get all the air out.  What you could do is get some flat heavy books, put the clovers in so that you press them, then tape it.

[57cadillac]

Yay! I found my 40th clover! I was just walking with my friends on the sidewalk, and I looked on the ground and found it! Well, it was kind of conspicous, all by itself...

[Machino21]

This is a very interesting website. Both my wife and I have "the gift" and have since we were childeren. From what I understand my great grandmother was able to find 4 leaf clovers as well. I have the same experience as many as the others have shared ... I will just be walking, look down and see one right there, it blows peoples minds. I found at least 2 dozen this week alone. My wife and I will have a contest to see who can find the most while we are on a walk. I do wonder why some people can find them so easially. I stopped saving clovers years ago, but I really like the frame display of them, I may have to start keeping them again. Thanks for the website and GOOD LUCK! Dean

[57cadillac]

Yeah, my friend and I were just standing on the sidewalk, and I looked down on the ground and found one.

[57cadillac]

I'm ADDICTED to clover hunting. That's what I've been spending all my time on in school last year! Oh well, I'm ACTUALLY GOING RIGHT NOW to my farm on the hill to pick more four and five leaf clovers. Bye!

[windfallangel]

Beautiful Collection!! I had found a couple of 4 leaf I tried to put in a mix they use to put on tables a clear mix they put coins & photos on a table then they put this resin over it to protect !! But it was a huge mess.. But your collections looks super the color is still there really nice!

[AstralQueen]

Right. I'm going to be in the garden alot after this...

[Pam McCarrison]

While checking my garden this evening I picked 121 four leaf clover.

[Wareagle]

thats kind of hard to believe...

[Irisdiopter]

I have this weird gift too, as well as all my family on my mother's side. I have shelves of books filled with these little wonders of nature. Maybe one day I'll shake out all my books and put them on display like you've so wonderfully shown!

[TheChemist]

Adorable. Never found a four leaf clover before, but I'm inspired. -Gracie California

[junior7]

4 leaf clovers are more easily found in big cities because of the polution causing the mutation. Last year all I found was one 5 leaf after hours of searching. I live in a town of 426 people in northern wisconsin . I have found many this year though and a real two leaf clover. I think I may have lost that one though.

[porkhead]

Wow. I would dig to see that poster in real life. Wish us all luck in your prayers tonite dude. I wish you good health !

[Galilxg3]

U SURE R LUCKY!!!

[McTurtle]

Great site! I've had "the gift" since I was about eleven, and have experimented with a number of preservation techniques. The first one, pressing them between two pieces of Saran Wrap, didn't work too well... Anyway, I like your pressing device and *love* your poster! Maybe if I ever have a garage I'll build one of my own... Also, I'm jealous of your ten-leaf find -- my highest ever is eight. In my experience, people with this hobby are rarer than the clovers by a long shot, so it's nice to run across someone else who's seen some of the things I've seen. :) (I just observed my first spade-leafs this season and my husband and I were gawking over them, too.)

[Your Average Guy]

put it in some wax paper to keep it green

[Hawaii00000]

They don't stay green do they?

[smeeves]

i press them under a big stack of books for a week or two then wrap them in tape. im thought i was good at finding clovers (ive found maybe 15-20 in a year) but you guys are awesome. there used to be a patch half a block up from my house that i found 10 in in maybe half hour. i tried to plant them and breed 4 leaf clovers....

[mossDboss]

put them in the white pages of a phone book for about a week, drys and presses very well.

[smeeves]

I've found maybe 10 four leaf clovers, the first in grade 8. there was a nice patch near my friends house that we found 20+ between the two of us, but then the neighbours mowed it. the highest I've found was a 5. i store them by pressing them for 1-2 weeks in a big pile of books and then covering them with scotch tape. then i can do whatever i want with them :) i remeber i once tried to breed my own 4 leaf patch by picking the entire root out of the ground and planting it but the four leafs just died and 3 leafs grew.

[liquidblackout]

I went searching a couple of days ago and found a whole bunch of them in a relatively short amount of time. Five-leaf clovers weren't uncommon, but I managed to find one with six. I used to look for them in the school fields, but I was in the park this time. Being a mutation, I wonder if that says anything about our "natural greenspace." I'm trying to find a way to encase them in their own transparent square, similar to a slide for a microscope, so the clovers can be viewed both front and back. I used transparencies, but I'm not sure how I can glue them together and still maintain a high quality. Of course, I've tried all sorts of glues and a lacquer spray, but nail polish seems to be the best adhesive at the moment, Any suggestions? Thanks! Great instructable!

[Grey_Wolfe]

cold press laminate would work well, just be careful in your original setting of the clover.

[mossDboss]

I believe the mutation is from mowing. That is why school yards are great places for finding them. That at least what I was told.

[Rishnai]

Maybe, but I rarely mow my yard and two-leafs are a perennial occurrence for me. Maybe repeated mowing stimulates extra leaves, though. This bears testing....

[GoodAtIt]

I use clear tape, which works very well,

[liquidblackout]

Right on top of it? I've done that before and it does work fine, but how about on both sides? Wouldn't it be flimsy and difficult to get the air bubbles out or tape it so that the tape is perfectly aligned on top of itself?
Thanks for the suggestion =]

[dredre]

I used to make bookmarks out of them when I was a kid. You just "laminate" the clover to a notecard. It's nice if you're superstitious and want to carry them around your wallet too. I wish I knew what I did with all those bookmarks!

[lavajin]

This is awesome! I find them all the time. I will just be standing there, look down, and there's a 4 leaf clover. You've inspired me to start saving them to make a poster like yours! :]

[applecity]

I too, find lots, and not knowing what to do with them I bought a small laminator, and now after they dry I laminate them on a business self made card and give to students or friends as a do not forget me card. If I am traveling I change the card to give my name and address. For some reason those who can't find them think this is a great gift.

[ROCKETMAN]

Somebody could get very "lucky" at craft shows and swap meets if they sucessfully cultivate a few naturaly occuring mutant clover plants. Though money doesn't make the world go 'round it can make the ride smoother.

[roosta]

you have waayyyy to much time mate. finding them is one thing, but pressing and mounting them!?!

[margretli]

Why WOULDN'T you press and mount them? Just like collecting stamps, it's a hobby/passion. Thanks for sharing Falaco.