I've come a long way - but can never quite get them all. Have had the best success when I actually dig - as opposed to pulling. But they lurk, and wait and suddenly there's a clump the size of a soccer ball. It's unfortunate that they can be so charming; especially when you get a few random white ones.

As I look out my window down over the gardens - I'm beginning to have the same feelings about forget-me-nots (m. sylvatica). My gardens are solid blue right now! They do crowd out other weeds and are easy to pull and I'd certainly not like getting rid of them altogether since the effect is stunning. Perhaps I shouldn't let 95% of them get to the seed setting stage.

And then there are the Johnny Jump Ups, Aquilegia Canadensis, saponaria officinalis...

I've got these yellow, purple, and white violets growing all over the place. They are pretty prolific and I was a bit worried about them. Took pictures and asked on "Name that Plant" and was surprised to learn that they were native species - Viola pubescens and V. sororia - purple and white.

So now I want to grow them in some of the woodland gardens I have planned, because they are really pretty, and hope to keep them under control. Don't know if that's possible because they do reseed prolifically.

I've got so many non-native invasive species growing here, it was nice that these are native at least. They seem pretty tame compared to the Oriental Bittersweet, Norway maple, and other seedlings that are everywhere!

lol it is a love hate war. i double dug my annual beds pulling the roots out n dont ya know i got some popin up. thought i got em all out! they are so pretty. i dont mind them taking over the bank, but not my flower beds lol

Violets have this seed pod that doesn't just open, it explodes and scatters seeds a very long distance. Plus the fact that they are very waxy leaved and resistant to broad leaf weed killers and drought...AND they have some sort of underground seeds that also serve to make new plants.
I have been fighting the violet war for 35 years......and an holding my own.
I have also been fighting the lysmachia war and am really gaining on that one.
I have won the ditch lily war....but not the Virginia Creeper, bind weed nor the campanula war!
Linda C

LOL, and here I am putting out more forget me not seeds, because the ones I did last year look so pretty! First time I have grown them.

As for the violets, I actually moved some into my garden on purpose! I would much rather have violets than quack grass, and some of the other weeds I seem to get.

I don't seem to have the same problem everyone else has with stuff reseeding. I have to PLANT Johnny jump ups, they refuse to reseed themselves, and I love them.

The one thing I do have that I would like to get rid of is what I think is called creeping charlie. It seems to be showing up everywhere.

I planted some lysmachia into one of my beds this year, didn't know it could be a thug. How do those of you other folks in the cold of northern Minnesota feel about that one? Do you have a problem with it?

Jenny P

Chemical warfare (SpeedZone, Turflon Ester and Quicksilver) seems to have them on the run this spring, but part of me fears that I've only killed a lot of foliage, with corms lurking below ground, waiting for autumn. After three years of off/on battle, there are a lot fewer than there were originally, but not zero.

duluth, if you have any a. canadensis seeds you're interested in sharing, would you email me?

My johnny-jump-ups never seem to spread very much - I never have more than a few plants and once the heat and humidity of August start, they're gone.

My neighbor has a field of violets which has spread into the back corner of my yard. I've give up back there, but I am able to keep them out of my beds. I read once was that if you don't cover a bare piece of ground, nature will - and that is ever so true. Once you pull out the violets, mulch. A good mulch cover is necessary to keep weeds from rooting too deeply and it's very effective. I'm sorry I ever planted "White Nancy" lamium in my beds. They are incredibly persistent. I just pulled out 4 buckets of the stuff this weekend and I already see babies redeveloping.

I have not yet begun to fight.

Literally. I've always had those tiny, wild violets in my so-called "lawn", but never worried about them. They were not out of control (still aren't), and blended nicely with the wild strawberry, quaker ladies, mosses, and other green stuff that I have in the "lawn" other than grass. :)

I too planted violets in my garden on purpose. I got some white and purple ones from a friend, and I also planted Freckles. Well, last year was the first year that the thought entered my head that perhaps I should start pulling some, and this year that thought returned.

However, when they are in full bloom, I am mesmerized. I can do nothing but stand there and stare, and think how utterly gorgeous they are, and yes, how they are taking over the world. But they are too beautiful to pull just yet. Wait till the bloom is done.... and then I don't get around to it.

But I think this year I will definitely pull some. I'm not convinced that all-out war is needed (yet), and I can't imagine my garden without them, but perhaps to keep the numbers in check a little pulling is in order.

:)
Dee

Lysimachia - If you're talking about the creeping stuff - run, run, run. It's deadly around here, although I think I finally won the war after about 10 years. I haven't seen any this year.

Violets are like dandelions to me. I love the first flowers of both in early spring. Spring wouldn't be spring without them.

It's kind of odd, but the violets I have in my woodland area don't bother me. They seem to be kept in check by something. For one thing, they have their foliage totally eaten by something come midsummer. The violets in the perennials borders are the real thugs. Nothing bothers them.

lindac - The exploding seed pod explains a lot of things - like how they jumped over a 2 foot wall. Thanks.

Yes, I haven't quite made up my mind about the forget-me-nots. I usually have a huge carpet of them by midsummer, but they are so easily to pull. It's the ones that jump into the middle of some other plant that bug me.

Kevin

Leslies - I just emailed you separately.

FYI, the native violas (with the big lily pad type leaves) are edible. They taste slightly sweet.

tora - Thanks for that. Did some Googling and found the following. Since I eat salad everyday of my life, I'm going to try these.

K

Here is a link that might be useful: Edible violets

A couple years ago I planted some trailing violets in two big planters that I fill with annuals. Now I have little violets coming up in the cracks of my flagstone sidewalk. They make me smile every time I see them, so I guess I don't mind!

Funny! Mine (introduced deliberately, yep) finally spread out so much in their bed that I decided I couldn't justify the real estate and took them out. But they've not seemed to seed at all, and they came up pretty well (I dug them up in big clumps and moved them to a spot where nothing else will grow).

I absolutely love seeing them bloom in February. They're always the first bouquet of the year, fat little sassy-purple bunches in small bud vases.

Kristin

I was just talking about this recently on another thread. Our property was covered with violets when we moved in. There are a lot of them in the lawn too. It is a violet that I do not enjoy. White, large leaves, no fragrance. It is easy to pull up, with a spade. Pulling alone usually just gets the leaves and not the root. I don't find them that difficult to get out. I have not had that much trouble keeping them out of the garden beds, but I gave up on them in the lawn.

I did decide to actually add violets..lol. Since I wasn't going to lose those I didn't like, I decided I might as well have something I did like. I've added labrador violets that have a pretty heart shaped small leaf and purple flowers and a viola odorata that is a very dark purple and very fragrant. So far I am enjoying those and I am hoping that if they get to spreading around, at least they might compete with the ugly one I don't like. [g]

pm2

This is funny,
I actually thought this would be about trying to get them to grow!

I love them and have been trying to keep them growing for years. I have some that are white & purple and would love to have more of them. I brought home some plain white this year hope they make it. I have to replant about every other year or so.

Guess ones pleasure is anothers pain...if any one wants to share.....

:) karyn

These things come up all over the place in West Tennessee. I pulled up some of them last week and they are already coming back. They are pretty though. I feel bad about killing them, but they have got to go!

I have made a large pitcher of lemonade out of these lemons: having gotten tired of weed-whacking along the foot of the 150+ feet of curved drystone wall I've built over the years, I first planted a line of ajuga at the base of the walls -- which turned out not to be able to withstand the DC heat or occasional lawnmowing -- and then last year I replaced the ajuga with the violets I weed out of those beds. This works great so far-- the violets have made a nice thick mat that keeps other weeds out, the line of dark green is a lovely contrast to the local stone and broken concrete of the walls, and they don't care if I nick them with the mower every now and then. We'll see if they throw seed up into the beds, start to take over the lawn, or create other mischief.

LynnT

I need to vent,too. Some of the babies are smack in the middle of my pinks. Can't tear out the wee violets without coming out with some pink stalks. But agree that I, too, adore them in early Spring.

Well, in my former home the violets were rampant... all over the place. Those gardens were shade gardens. But in our new home there is lots of sun and my husband has worked to improve the lawn area & it seems that a lush, full grassy area is one way to keep violets in check. However, they still crop up in my flower gardens. I just keep an eye on them and dig, not pull them up, where I don't want them and enjoy them where I do. I've actually replaced many of the wild violet patches with violas that are really pretty, not fragrant but longer lasting blossoms. I don't think you can really get rid of wild flowers that grow so easily so the best advice I could give is to learn to co-exist.

Molie

Love/hate relationship here with them - in a couple of areas they are great for keeping out more undesirable weeds from growing - I do want them in my woodland areas to help keep the soil shaded and will gradually replace them with hostas, ect - they are the first to welcome my spring. One the hate side - they seem to love my tended flower gardens the best - the place I have the worst time with them is in my sedum garden but I am gradually winning that battle. I cherish every plant and flower that God has created - some a little less than others tho ;)......

Lynne