Violets feed butterflies, bees, rabbits and other wildlife. They’re also an asset to gardeners, forming a lovely groundcover under shrubs and perennials. So why are lawn care and pesticide companies so threatened by this native plant? Roundup.com recommends tips to help you “conquer this invader,” calling the unassuming little violet “an aggressive weed that will happily invade your lawn if left unchecked” and “come back to haunt you year after year.” Other mainstream sites are no better; some universities recommend killing violets with strong herbicides just for the sake of preserving lifeless lawns. But violets were growing on this nation’s lands long before turfgrass, so who is really the invader here? Don’t believe the hype, and watch my video about how to incorporate these beautiful native plants into your garden.
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I so agree! Not only are violets beautiful, the leaves are soft to walk on and, in my opinion, they beautify my lawn and yard rather than terrorize it. As they are easily dug up where not wanted, I simply move strays to my woodland area where they thrive happily.
That’s such a good point that they are soft, too — just an all around great plant!
I enjoyed your video, as we have lots of pretty violets on our property. I have a large patch of ground that is untouched (no violets yet) and very brown at the moment, so I wanted to plant some perennial flowers and evergreen shrubs and trees. If I also move violets into the area for groundcover, will I end up killing/strangling the plants that I buy? I know you said the violets naturally crowd out the mock strawberries on your property, so I wasn’t sure if it would do the same for other plants. Thank you!
Hi Colleen! I don’t think they’ll present any problems for you like that. They definitely help crowd out the mock strawberries, but I also help that process along by pulling mock strawberries periodically when I can. So the violets and I work together on that. It really depends on the spot — what the soil’s like, which plants are near it — but what I tend to see most often is that the violets weave their way around native perennials, especially taller ones. The only possible concern — and this goes for any vigorous native groundcover — would be if you had them near a less vigorous groundcover that does its active growing at the same time. So for example, if I plant pussytoes near golden ragwort, a wonderful and fast-spreading native groundcover, I can be sure that the pussytoes will be gone within a couple of years. But the pussytoes are very small and slower-growing than the ragwort. So that’s the only type of consideration I think you’d have to make.
If these are perennials, how to the leaves look in the winter? Could violets be a year around ground cover?
Winter is their blooming season. The leaves are pretty and stay nice and green all year. They survive the freezing snow and frost too.
In a winter climate the above ground plant completely disappears and the only thing left is an underground, ( I don’t know what to call it) rhizome or a little yellow pod that sits there until it’s warm enough to grow new leaves and roots and pop up again.
I’m sorry for my delayed response! It depends on the species and also the region. Some violets are evergreen, and some may go dormant in summer in hotter regions (like Texas), and some may go dormant in winter in the north. Where I live in Maryland, violets start to leaf out in March and are lush in some spots until October.
So true! I just let them grow! They’re between pavers, across the lawn – anywhere they can find a bit of soil. In my flower gardens I leave them in place – they are far prettier than bare soil. If the crowd in too much I remove a few…hadn’t thought of moving them elsewhere – but I will now. Whoever said the violets will take over if you don’t get aggressive in their removal – how right you are, and how good it is to ignore your advice!
My “dream morning” would be to step out at first light and discover that the violets are dancing everywhere with the dandelions – they are so beautiful together. (I know many people detest dandelions – but how can one reject the bright yellow pompoms frolicking across an otherwise boring lawn!)
I love that image of the violets and dandies dancing! Thank you!<3
That’s just how I feel. My husband wants to kill them grrrrr.
That yellow and purple combo really is beautiful. Last year I transplanted some violets and some green and gold, also a native groundcover, around a birdbath. I think the buns nibbled the violet flowers, but I look forward to next year to see if they all flower together! 🙂
I also heartily agree. Here in my large garden in Seattle, I have dozens and dozens (fifty+ at least) native purple violets (they do spread like wildfire) all over. They make a gorgeous border next to iris and other perennials, and they work their way in everywhere they can. The only place we “yank them” is from the veggie beds.
I also have a few native white violets—some with purple centers and a few with purple speckles) in select spots, though they are less aggressive. Sadly, we have had bad luck keeping the lovely, delicate yellow ones alive, though we have planted more than a few.
That sounds so pretty among your other plants! I’ve had the same experience with the yellow ones that are native here in Maryland, though they may have also just been overtaken by surrounding plants that spread more vigorously. I love the Canadian white violet — maybe that’s what you have too? It doesn’t spread as much but has such cute little leaves.
Where do you get more violets. I love them so much and have had them everywhere I’ve lived except here in Renton
You can find them to buy online. I sell them on a site called Poshmark for a reasonable price. You don’t have to get them from me, I’m sure there are other places they are available. They are in full bloom in the snow right now! They came with our home that was built in the 30’s.
You can come to my house in the spring at get a bunch. I end up putting so many in the yard waste as I yank them from our veggie garden patch, etc. I am in South Seattle near Seward Park, so not that far from you. I would so prefer to give them away than mulch them.
You can come to my house in the spring at get a bunch. I end up putting so many in the yard waste as I yank them from our veggie garden patch, etc. I am in South Seattle near Seward Park, so not that far from you. I would so prefer to give them away than mulch them.
Amy, mine are specific to the PNW. I got them from the WA Native Plant Society. I highly recommend joining if you’re interested in planting natives in your garden. They have annual sales, etc.
Nancy, I love the “how-to” videos and information. I sometimes get stuck and am not sure exactly what to do in my yard so specific information like how to transplant violets is very helpful. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Krista! <3 I'm so glad it was helpful! Hope you're doing well.
These come up all over my lawn every spring. I think they look pretty and add color to my lawn!
Yes, we are lucky to have them! 🙂
I would love to introduce them into my “lawn” and have them take over. Can you tell me where I can find their seeds? I’m in the Pacific Northwest.
Where? I’m in Seattle and I can happily give you plants. I could dig some up and leave them for pick up. They reseed themselves all year long. I have never seen native seeds for sale, but the plants can sometimes be found at local native plant sales. But, alas there won’t be any of those this year.
Hi Andrea,
That is so kind and thoughtful of you! I would love to take you up on the offer once the stay-at-home orders are over. I live in Birch Bay, Wa, so it is a couple of hours driving to you. Would that work OK for you?
Yes! I see that you are close to Blaine—such a lovely area. Do you ever drive down to Seattle? If so, we can definitely connect. You can email me via my website (which I have not updated in eons as it was a UW certificate project for me for a future point in time and I have no time to keep it up and also do my real job and life). http://www.thegreenqueenofmod.com and we can make plans to connect when we emerge from our cloister. I often have tons of native volunteers to give away in the spring and fall. I have native mock orange too!
Fabulous! Thank you very much! I will contact you.
Plants can be mailed. I use to mail plants all the time when I traded plants on Gardenweb.
Hi Shannon, I see that Andrea has offered seeds, if you are in her area. Also check out Eileen Stark’s website – she’s in Portland and wrote the book Real Gardens Grow Natives specifically for people in the PNW. There are some seed sources listed on the Resources section of her website: http://www.realgardensgrownatives.com/?page_id=32
Wow! Thanks for this new resource. I was actually offering plants (I have so many to dig up that are encroaching into other plants). I could leave them on my porch for anyone in the Seattle area in this time of no-touching.
Come late summer, I will have Western Columbine seeds for anyone who would like to help collect them as I hate to just toss them when I am deadheading the plants. Hopefully we can meet & greet again by then.
Oak Hill Organics has some online. I think they are around 2 bucks a plant but you have to buy like 5.
Good in salads too. I hear they are high in vitamin C.
Hi Jane! Yes, some time I’ll need to try it. I always forgo it because I want to leave as many as I can for the animals – there is actually a little bee who gathers pollen for her nests only from violet species!
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/discover/newsletter/gardening/2020/february/pansies-violas-and-violets
Hi Nancy, I love your approach to gardening. I wrote this piece not long ago that I want to share with you. I too encourage gardeners to save the violets and learn more about native plants. It took me years to figure it out.
Thanks, Julianne! Your salad looks tasty and also pretty with that little flower on top.
I love that you posted this about violets. Much of my grass in my backyard is violets. Grass hardly grows around the grass that hardly gets sun. I had a few many years ago & now love my “violet” grass- some are purple, some white & some mixed. I never use chemicals on my grass, so the violets work for me.
Your backyard sounds so lovely! Thank you for appreciating the violets. <3
I have a very large clump of violets that come up yearly along the edge of a rocked (ground cover) flower bed. I am ok with where this large clump of violets is located, bit wondering if there is some way to collect the seeds from this years blooms to plant wlsewhere?
I’ve never done it, but this site has good info: https://wildseedproject.net/2016/03/violet-species-violaceae/
“Collecting seeds from violets takes a little observation. Within a week or two of the last flowers appearances, check the plants regularly for the ½″ pale green seedpods. The pods point downward until the seeds begin to ripen, when they turn tan and papery, and reorient, pointing upwards. If the seeds have begun to turn brown they are ripe and ready to collect. (Seeds explode outward when the pods split.) Seeds can be sown immediately in pots outdoors, left to dry for a few weeks in a paper bag, then put in the refrigerator in a sealed jar or bag for fall sowing. Germination will occur the following spring.”
I love my violets! I have a reused upcycled toilet that I planted with violets and they are spilling out the sides. I love them so much and have them all over the yard too.
One of my favorite quotes is- forgiveness is the scent of the violet when crushed underfoot.
Thanks for promoting sense and beauty. I’ll never understand those who fear plants taking over or use chemicals. Plants are simple to remove by hand and are beneficial. Live and let thrive!
Hi Laura, that sounds so pretty! I don’t understand the “plants taking over” fear either. Plants were here long before we were. They have as much right to live here as we do.
Thanks for this wonderful article! I started gardening from scratch on our property about 7 years ago and wild violets are thick in my veggie and flower beds. I try to keep them out of the veggie beds, but I do love them yet worry about them crowding out other plants in the flower beds competing for nutrients and water and maybe also preventing plants like wild columbine from reseeding. I wouldn’t want to lose my other plants, but I’m happy to leave them if they are “good neighbors” to the other plants. What’s your experience with long term crowding in beds?
Hi Jan! Thanks for reading. 🙂 I think that in spots where there is a lot of constant turnover of plants — just like the veggie beds you mentioned — the violets might dominate a bit once their seeds really get going. But in other, more established areas, they tend to weave in and out among the taller, later-blooming perennials. In general their active growing periods are different, and so they’re not as competitive as you might think. Where you might end up with an issue is if you want to grow a more delicate, slower-spreading groundcover — such as pussytoes, or perhaps the columbines (though I think they might reseed enough to make it not an issue, depending on the space). But among equally vigorous or later-season perennials, and under shrubs and trees, I don’t find it to be an issue at all.
Thank you!!
I’m new to the idea of leaving native plants growing in my yard. But I see some wild violets and love them, so I’m climbing on board! The video of a rabbit eating a dandelion is helping me overcome my concern about those, as I do have rabbits in my yard and they’re adorable. But my biggest lawn takeover plant is the ground ivy (or “creeping charlie”). It’s in the mint family so its pretty aggressive. Any tips on naturally controlling it somehow so it doesn’t choke everything else? Or am I worrying too much?
Hi Char, I don’t worry about it in lawn areas, which are mainly just pathways where we are now. But when it gets into the areas where I’ve been nurturing natives, I pull it. If it’s an extensive area, I smother it with newspaper, etc. It does feed some bees in spring, but of course I’d rather have natives that the bees can use more. So I guess the short answer is that for me, it’s been a long-term process, and while it is something I’d rather replace, I don’t worry about it nearly as much as some of the other truly invasive plants.
Thanks so much for this lovely article! We are a registered Habitat with the Nat’l Wildlife Fed. We live in central VA. When our violets come out on our property, it looks like a beautiful, natural carpet. My husband won’t mow over them ’til they finish blooming.
After watching your video, I love the violets even more!
Hi Jane, that sounds gorgeous! I’m guessing you also have a place where you don’t mow them at all? I should have mentioned that in the video — that eggs and caterpillars are still around in violet habitat after blooming, and also the fritillaries still need the leaves to lay their eggs throughout the summer. So it’s ideal when people can just have large areas of violets that they let be. Thanks for making a haven for wildlife! 🙂
Beautiful, natural, some are edible and medicinal…..What’s not to love?
Exactly!
I cultivate a garden as an example of deer resistance in NY where we are overwhelmed by deer in a residential area. I spend a great deal of my time removing violets because they spread so freely that they overwhelm other plants. I don’t mind them in the lawn but they are really aggravating in the demonstration garden.
Hi Dorothy, I wonder if you have a different type of violet – maybe the European kind? I’ve had a different experience with the native violets. The native perennials and shrubs grow just fine among the violets here, I think because they are used to growing alongside each other. Also, one of the reasons I intentionally leave and incorporate the violets and fleabanes and other low-growing natives into the gardens is that the herbivores like them — and the more plants I have for rabbits and deer to nibble on, the less likely it is that they focus on any one plant for too long. It works fantastically here, and I do it with all sorts of plants — and we usually have a herd of a dozen or more deer in our garden every day! 🙂
I’ve always loved violets and have them in my pollinator/ rain garden where they are allowed to grow wherever they want! If they pop up in the lawn I rehome them in my borders or perennial beds so my dogs don’t trample them or I don’t run over them with my push mower!
In addition to violets’ charming qualities I consider myself lucky they are my official state flower (Wisconsin) AND my birth flower (February). How cool is that!?
That IS cool!! You and violets were meant to be together! 🙂 I love that you do the same thing and “rehome” them when needed.
Beautiful, as always Nancy! This is a matter of education. People have to understand nature and protect it. The pests are those companies that sell products which kill vegetation, big, small and tiny animals.
Hi Soledad! Yes, well-said. They are a huge problem and have had such influence on this terrible mindset that we have to scrape everything away.
Great video! I have one corner of our back garden with a groundcover of violets. I had been trying to control them is some of the beds and borders, but now I’m letting them to spread and form a groundcover there as well.
They are so pretty when they can just do their thing, right?
I have a moss covered lawn full of various types of Violets. A beautiful sight.
How gorgeous that must be!! Oh, how I love moss. I try to nurture wherever it pops up, and there are often little invasives grasses and such that seed in there during the summer. So you just gave me an idea that I will insert violets into the moss every time I pull something out there, too!
I’ve got a large expanse of lawn, all of which was grass when I moved here. I was always fighting the weeds and not having enough time to mow it all. So I’m letting nature give me a make-over. There’s a large section that’s different kinds of moss, so I pull up any grasses that sprout there. There’s a sunny section I let completely grow and seed it with various wildflowers, focusing on beneficial for pollinators. And the large section right off my porch was getting “over-run” with violets, along with clover, mosses, and other spreading ground-covers, so I’m giving a try to letting it all grow grass-free. I’ll put stepping stones when I usually walk. We’ll see! Maybe I’m crazy … but I love what nature has in store …
I watched this with my 9 yr old daughter Violet, and she wholeheartedly agrees that we need to SAVE THE VIOLETS!
What a beautiful name!! When I was a little girl, we had an elderly family friend named Viola, but I’ve never met someone named Violet! Just lovely. Hugs to you and your daughter. <3
I have just moved a few violets from the lawn to a native plant border I created a few days ago. And then I saw your video.
Thanks for the tips.
Hi Stéphan! That’s awesome. It just makes so much sense, right?
I’m a month behind but read your violet e-mail. Violets are one of the few “weeds” that I weed around in the gardens that I mulch. I treat them like I myself planted them. In the mowed areas, anybody can grow, and I mow around some flowers. In this horrible time, people should know that many “weeds” are edible including violets and their flowers (and dandelions, plantain, etc.). Humans keep dooming themselves.
Hi Robyn! That’s great. I was recently so disappointed to hear a scientist/ecologist in our area call them weeds. It’s ridiculous. We need a violet revolution.
I am so delighted to have found your site this morning. A few years ago, I moved into a home with a densely shaded backyard overgrown with ivy, honeysuckle, stiltgrass, etc. Until this spring, it’s just been too overwhelming to figure out how to make some spaces that are nice for humans while also increasing the value for wildlife–in part because while I could identify some of the plants I don’t want to encourage, I had no idea which ones I did want. I have been using Seek (by iNaturalist) to just wander around and try to identify plants when I see something unfamiliar, and it has been such a joy to realize that there are native plants popping up here and there that I can encourage!
Hi Barbara! That is so great! Yes, this is one of the many joys of gardening this way! Whenever I get overwhelmed by the stiltgrass and such, I just walk around and look at all the other wonders popping up all on their own. 🙂
On our spring walks, we admire the lawns of owners who let their violets grow. Some look like a field of beautiful purple blue.
Loved your video, loving your book. Can’t get enough of this
This summer I build a BBB Garden for Bees, Butterflies and Birds.
We had one mother robin who would come in 4 feet from me to steal my fat earthworms for her babies. She was a frequent visitor for awhile. The number and varieties of bees and wasps and creatures I’d never seen before came in droves. Butterflies, constantly flying in and around my nectar plants and watching the Monarchs lay their eggs on my Butterfly weed. Constant movement. The darling Carolina wrens sitting on a decoration wine rack, first sitting inside facing east, then moving to another level to face north, etc. The humming birds visiting the feeder and then more to their delight the numbers of flowers they fed on. I had never experienced that. And dragon flies, enjoying the new pond. Emerald green and bright blue. Beautiful creatures. So much life in such a small part of our yard. I am so inspired to make more and more of our almost 2 acres into native plants for my lovely creatures. What a wonderful adventure for Covid 19 days.
If you don’t have Verbena Bonarensis I recommend it. The pollinators love it and it spreads around the yard. The new ones are easy to move or share and it blooms all spring and summer.
Hi Jody, that sounds heavenly. I’m sorry I missed your comment before and don’t know if you’ll see this one, but I hope you have had a lovely time rewildling the rest of your space!<3
I live in East Tennessee and have violets growing everywhere. I especially like them in my “lawn” I love the fact that my lawn never needs watering and stays green all year.
Yes! And it doesn’t need mowing either when it is all violets and other such plants.
I look forward to spring and summer after brutally cold miserable ugly winters. One of the best things to see are the purple violets and yellow dandelions mixed together (until the dandelions go to seed). Even the creeping charlie is green and has interesting tiny purple flowers if anybody bothers to closely look at it. If there is something worthwhile growing in the yard i try not to disturb it. After all, dill is a “weed” but look how tasty it is (the fronds are even used in a deliciously unique sweet pastry with cottage cheese in Hungary called lepeny). Weed is too broad a term for some useful, attractive plants….
Hi Joe, I agree – weed is kind of a meaningless term. I like your policy of taking the path of least disturbance. It leads to some extraordinary treasures!
Thank you for this video. I looked at violets as a weed to pull out, but no longer. I will definitely let them grow back and use as a ground cover.
Hi Jill, that’s great – thank you! I’m so happy the video helped. 🙂
I found one single violet plant in my backyard one day, while I was weeding the vegetable bed. I felt it was a blessing, as I have never seen violets in real life, as they don’t seem to be common in my area. I transplanted it to a better spot for it, the petals have fallen off, and I can see that the seed pot is developing. I’m hoping the area will turn into a patch of violets. I would like to gather them for medicinal uses.
Hi Maia, that sounds promising! I hope you see many more violets. 🙂
Wow, I’m speechless. An advocate for wild violets?? “These plants were growing on our nation’s land long before we were here, so who’s really the invader”, seriously? As if they are poor defenseless animals in need of saving.
These nasty plants will COMPLETELY take over your lawn if you allow them to start. Please, for the love of God people, DO NOT put these in your lawn unless your goal is not having one. I promise, you WILL be haunted year after year. There’s a reason there are articles everywhere warning about them with tips on how to eradicate them.
Actually, there are animals in need of saving who rely completely on violets, including threatened and endangered fritillary butterfly species whose caterpillars have evolved to eat only these plants. Why would your lawn be more important than that? And I’d really like to know: what exactly is problematic for you about violets growing in lawn? Please note that your answer does not have to include shouting. Putting words in all caps doesn’t make a statement any truer or more persuasive.
Nancy, the problem is they don’t just grow in your lawn. They take over the lawn. I don’t desire a full yard of wild violets.
Please note: If there are no italics available putting individual words in caps is intended for emphasis, not yelling. This may help you understand tone a little better going forward.
I’ve entirely rid my 8,000-sf yard of all grass. Lawns are the worst use of garden space IMHO—a drain on resources and of no use to the environment. We covered the area we wanted for a playspace for children and dogs with play chips—no mud and low maintenance.
Interesting that anyone would want to tell me, a complete stranger, how to care for my lawn. The violets are beautiful and they feel good under foot.
Julez, I appreciate that you are not a fan of violets, or at least not when they mingle in the grass. That’s fine…you certainly needn’t keep them.
But, as a matter of kindness and courtesy, please don’t yell at us on the page.
There are enough reasons in life for outbursts; I come to this sight to be soothed, to be carried off into spaces of beauty and fertility. And to learn new things.
One need not agree with every perspective presented, but even disagreement can be expressed in the spirit of this site – so gently, respectfully.
I truly hope that your own gardens are pleasing to you; we all need spaces that bring us peace.
And with that, I wish you peace.
Thank you, I love my gardens, they are lovely and I planned them out to support bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. I support wildlife as much as I can, but I also enjoy having a beautiful lawn.
But your accusations are misguided. I never told anyone how to care for their lawn. I left a warning about the invasive plants that are being endorsed in this article. For those who desire a bee lawn or don’t care to have grass, sure wild violets might be enjoyable. That’s not the audience my comment was aimed at.
There also wasn’t an outburst in any respect, I left a stern warning for those who don’t realize what they will do to your lawn. I left a single small patch that popped up in my garden bed because I thought it was pretty. Fast forward 2 years, they have quite literally taken over my entire property.
Suggesting to allow them into your lawn is a cruel and irresponsible thing to do to a person who has no clue how brutal these things are. You shouldn’t do so without a bold warning that they 100% WILL take over your lawn and be uncontrollable once they begin to spread, as they are darn near indestructible. The article lacked that warning, so I left one.
Alas, tone is frequently misunderstood through text. It seems you don’t understand using caps on single words is for emphasis, not yelling. Had I left my comment in all caps and exclamation points, your response might be appropriate.
Thanks for trying to support wildlife. Just a point of clarification for other readers: If we’re still talking about native wild violets here, the term “invasive” is used incorrectly. “Invasive” refers to a plant growing so vigorously outside its home range — with few or no natural checks and balances — that it inhibits or takes over native plant communities. A native plant such as a violet can never be described as invasive. Some of the grasses used for turf, on the other hand, such as tall fescue, have now invaded natural habitats. Rather than defending turf, we should be much more concerned about the 40-plus million acres of the stuff nationwide encroaching on violets and other native plants. Unless we need turf for a ball field or the like, there is no reason not to try some of the fabulous native eco-lawn alternatives in the form of sedges, low grasses and wildflowers.
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for this post. I want to introduce violets to my small urban yard as I convert to native and pollinator-friendly plants. As a novice gardener, stratification and sowing in containers to transplant later is intimidating. Is it possible to direct sow? I don’t need them in a specific place. I would just like to get them started in patches or swathes to compete with things like false wild strawberry in low traffic areas (and stop mowing those areas).
Side note: violets were my grandmother’s favorite flower so in addition to their natural benefits, they have sentimental appeal. Thank you for loving them.
Hi Daniel,
That is so sweet to hear about your grandmother — and that your native plant garden will be honoring her memory. <3 I haven't direct-sown violets, but based on their prolific reseeding habits, I would think that you could have some success in doing so. You might end up competing with birds, mice, and others who love the seeds. I'd try a mixture of approaches: 1) planting a few mature violets, either dug up from a friend's lawn/garden or purchased; 2) winter-sowing (have you read about that method, using milk jugs or something similar and just sowing the seeds outside where they remain cold but protected from being eaten? it can be much easier than seed-starting indoors); and direct-sowing.
Violets spread so well -- through their own self-seeding, through underground rhizomes, and through ant dispersal -- that I think you are guaranteed to have some success!
Thank you. Winter sowing does sound like a less intimidating on ramp, so I’ll put that method at the top of my list.
When I first moved to Ky, USA, these little beauties were in my lawn. I absolutely love them. They are so pretty! One year I wanted to get rid of the crabgrass and put out a pre-emergent(sp). I nearly killed off the violets. They took way longer to bloom than in my neighbors yard and I was ready to cry! I spent all that spring and summer moving every rhizome I could find in the garden to the lawn. Thank goodness they are coming back.
I’m glad you were able to save them! We often move them from “lawn” pathways to gardens because they’re such a nice groundcover underneath other plants and they are more protected from trampling feet there. 🙂
I wish I had a picture of my neighbors 4 acre yard in spring to share. It can be described as beautiful! She has 90% weeds and fights one color after the next. I 100% agree with Julez post. This plant will take over its habitat. As does any “weed”. People have the right to want “grass” in there space. People should also be warned this particular weed will dominate turf as well as flower beds.
This war on weeds versus turf needs to be subject to, number one, true advise. This acting like wild violets are not capable of becoming a nuisance is not good advice.
Violets were once a standard part of lawns, along with clover, before the post-war boom in herbicide production. And for good reason: they are beautiful, feed caterpillars of fritillary butterflies (some of whom can eat nothing else), provide pollen for specialist bees, and also feed humans. They are an edible plant for so many, including us, and they blend in with lawns. Native violets do not take over habitat; violets ARE habitat. If you have a lot of bare ground, they will fill it — and that is actually a great thing for us, for the animals, and for the environment. If you have other native plants in your gardens, violets grow easily around and under them; they are quite companionable.
Turfgrass is not habitat. No one can eat it. Turf species do not grow well in shade, leaving empty space that beautiful, low-growing native plants like violets can help fill. Sure, it’s fine to devote part of a home landscape to a small lawn area if you actually use it, but many people have far more lawn than they actually use. More to the point, violets do not disrupt the goal of having a lawn in any way. Our local Bee City group encourages leaving violets in lawns and gardens, and our county residents have been thrilled to learn about and nurture them. The violets do not get in the way of their lawn goals.
When you say they are a nuisance, I wonder: In what way? How do they harm you or your lawn? Is it an aesthetic preference, in that you would rather see blades of grass uninterrupted by broadleaf plants, however small and unobtrusive those plants are? If so, I’d be interested in hearing how that qualifies as a nuisance and what it does to disrupt your life, since “nuisance” is defined as an annoyance or an inconvenience. If it makes you want to pull and spray, I’d ask you to consider just letting the violets be for a while and see what happens. No more work for you, no more toxic chemicals, and I think you’ll find that the violets won’t harm you in any way.
And the idea that a native plant such as a violet is a “weed” is also quite subjective and is also an easy thing for you to reconsider. Once you understand how much everything is connected and how, yes, you can have habitat — and even better, more nourishing habitat — for both yourself and the creatures with whom we share this world, then you start to see the beauty of it. Flat, monochrome turf looks impoverished and stark by comparison.
Fortunately I’m far from the only person advocating for more environmentally friendly lawns and landscapes. The idea has been revived in the mainstream. University extension services, landscape designers, and many others are helping people put more eco-friendly lawns into practice, advocating for violets, and keeping step with more progressive ways to do better for both humans and the planet.
Funny, I use Roundup to kill the actual invaders (non-native, invasive plants like turfgrass etc) so that I can plant natives like common violets.
I have an amazing, thriving garden with 43 native species at last count. The birds and pollinating insects and reptiles and amphibians love it. And my property is just a small urban lot. Roundup made it possible, there’s no way I could have hand-pulled all the invasives, it just wouldn’t have been possible.
Someone at Roundup needs to get a clue and realize that people care about native wildlife and native plants. They could easily cash in on that, especially since glyphosate is such an indispensable tool to actual ecologists working to restore native habitats.
Faye, I appreciate your experience and your choice to share your story. I wonder though, if you worry about the more unintended results of using glyphosate…it’s an herbacide, for sure, but it also has a history of harming other life forms – and doesn’t using it in such a broad manner as killing turf grass result in problems for the very native plants you’re trying to restore?
Do you apply it, then wait a length of time to replant? Do you apply it selectively to invasives without harming beneficial plants?
What has been your experience (or your feelings) about the impact of glyphosate on various pollinators?
My experience has been that whatever I do to eliminate plants I don’t want they continually pop up among my chosen natives within a year. (and, sadly, even dense planting does not always crowd out the invasive). Admittedly, I’ve not used any but biologic control, hand pulling, tilling, etc in several years – but even when I did use RoundUp it lasted only a season at best and I was back at the hard work.
Wind, birds, etc, continually reseed things I don’t want…and I’m not at all positive about continually Round-ingUp the nuisance plants.
I guess I need help to sort out the glossy reports of advertisers, the bad reputation fed by purists, and the reality of the chemicals themselves. I’m not sure I’m an anti-chemical purist, but I certainly lean in that direction.
More information, please…not yet convinced but interested
One thing not mentioned is wild violets make great jelly.
I harvest them every year to make jelly for gifts.
Yeah right, beautiful until they wipe out your lawn.
I love Wild Violets, and our backyard is filled with them, and also Creeping Charlie with its little purple flowers. But, when it grows too tall, i.e. can’t see our dog’s business to pick it up, we cut it with a scythe. My question is this: Will the flowers return if cut in May? I hope they will. We live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It makes me sad to have to cut down the flowers. I wish I could post a photo.