I have one bed where DH isn't allowed to weed. I like our wild violets and he's forbidden to weed the violets out there. A large Florence Dellatre, two massive and old MacCartney Roses (the HTs), three Traviatas and four Frederick Mistrals are there. All are approaching ten years old. The Traviatas are hideously thorny and I have hated trying to keep the weeds under them under control. The violets are now so dense that weeds don't come. So I don't get prickled to death.
And these violets loose their leaves in winter so sprinkling organic fertilizer on the area just happens easily.
And it is a weed. But not all weeds are weeds to all of us.

Thank you Ann. This sounds like it will be worth a try. You say you have 'wild violets.' Can one purchase these somewhere? Or does one have to forage for them in the woods (lol)? I live in the burbs, and so, wild weeds are not easily found here. Domesticated weeds on the other hand are in abundance.

I have violas which reseed and grow wild here. They often fill the space between roses as in the lower right of the photo below. I encourage them and even move them around.

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jbhoodie - If you do plant wild violets, be sure you really, really like them. They will be in your garden forever! They grow wild in the woods here and are very sweet, but they can be invasive. I will have MANY seeds of these soon and will send you some if you like. I'm not not exactly sure how they would do in CA in your zone, but you can give it a try. I have them all over my flower beds.
Adrienne

They won't grow for me. I've tried, and they die. Too alkaline for them, I suspect -- and possibly too dry.
And I hate that, because I'd love to have them.
My grandmother always had violas -- "Johnny-Jump-Ups" among her roses, but everytime I plant those, DH pulls them up.

Jeri

They're definitely invasive here but I do think they're pretty. Once I was delighted with the sight of large numbers of them naturalized in grass under a tree.
I'm questioning how bad weeds are among roses because I sp'd a knockout last month which had some large roots snaking right under the grass paths between beds. They were thriving right under the grass. Violets do spread by seed I'm sure.

Linda

I have also Violets (? many forms of Viola odorata, 'John Raddensbury', 'Alba', 'Sulphurea', 'Princess of Wales'...), under my Roses, but I'm always fighting, tryin' to weed them out. They are lovely, but definitely too invasive for me.
So I decided to substitute them with the little Viola hederacea from Australia (Jeri, I think she can be "your" Violet!), smaller than viola odorata but in flower all the year round, not only in winter-spring. She spreads quickly from brittle stolons, but did not reseeds, so it's easy to keep her under control.

Ciao!
Maurizio

Adrienne--I would love some seed. Thank you for the kind offer.

I am just beginning to try some perennials from seed such as Delphinium, Lychnis, Stock, etc. I do have a couple of small violets still in pots, but they are not of the wild variety. I have some Parma violets, which do not set seed and some semi-doubles which do. I will now plant these around my roses. If the wild violets are similar to what I have seen, then I am sure I will love them.

Funniest line I read one time in a plant book, "the common violet (Viola riviniana) is invasive, but who could object to being overrun with violets?"...author had a good sense of humor :)
Michelle

Sounds gorgeous. Would love to find fragrant invasive violets for here, since there's little time for weeding. I have used California poppies, but they look bad outside of pre-blooming and blooming season...the foliage gets grey and ratty.

Jerome

Maurizio--what are 'brittle stolons?' Does this mean that the plant propagates itself through rooting off shoots or something like that? The violets I currently have planted (which have been there for many years) are easily pulled up with a tuberous root attached. I thin them out yearly. Does Viola hederacea have any fragrance? One of the things I find most charming about violets is the wonderful scent that permeates the air on calm spring evenings.

I don't know which kind everyone else has but the ones I had are like 4 o'clocks or border grass in their snaking growth. My neighbor allows them to grow and they have not recognized the property line yet, and neither has her mint.

I used to think violets were inocuous (hence the name) but I will never plant them again after what I go through in my client's garden. Over the years she had planted violets and violas and her garden is now overrun with them to the point that I can't get rid of them. They pop up everywhere and would form a groundcover over the whole garden if I let them. They are so sneaky that sometimes I spot some popping up in the vicinity of a newly planted division I transplanted from her garden to mine. I have learned my lesson and plunk them out soon as I spot them.

Sorry for the rant, maybe they behave better in CA. And I can't say they've never put a smile on my face, such as every now and then I'll spot a beautifully-colored seedling. But most are of the common white or pale lavender color, or the purple & yellow johnny-jump-ups variety, and they seed themselves everywhere and are hard to pull out, usually breaking at the crown and regrowing. Plus they look ratty after the weather warms, they only bloom in when it's cool.

I sounds like when they'd bloom, it would be pretty but I wouldn't do it. They really can be invasive and you could very easily end up with them taking over every bit of ground cover space in your whole garden and even into your yard. I've heard of others planting other invasive ground covers and regretting it. My advice--think long and hard before you do. Jeff

If you decide you really do want violets, you could try these people as a source. I've never ordered from them, but they seem to have a wide selection.

Here is a link that might be useful: Violet nursery in northern CA

Great site I would like a variationn on what we have. Our garden has far to many common violets and confederate violets we have to pull them out.

They're invasive and I love them. They grow wild all over the property here and are a great joy in late winter and spring. Ours come in all shades from white to deep violet, and are fragrant, with a wafting scent. Like MorrisNoor I have cultivated forms of V. odorata and others too, and some of them are invasive as well, so I put them where they won't run over less self-assertive plants. It's wonderful having a lot of room. Jeri, our ground is alkaline and the violets love it--have you ever tried V. odorata?

Melissa

One of the few blessings of a cold, short season. Alot of the plants that everyone describes as "invasive" will be managable here... Violets as well. They do not get so our of hand you cant do some pulling.

I think they are very lovely!

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Silverkelt

Hi Jbfoodie,
I think we have to use latin names, or it will be a misunderstanding. I see now there's a difference between "violets" and "violas" - it's the same in italian, "violette" (Viola tricolor, V.x withrockiana and hybrids, like in Sielverkelt's pictures above) and "viole" (V. odorata and related, like V. riviniana, V. sororia, V. princeana), like in the picture here:

(from the garden of my friend Gabriella in Umbria, Italy)

Viola sororia (bot blue and white, or spotted like 'Freckles') and V. princeana (amazingly beautiful, the flowers seems to be white porcelain with a blue, thin net painted in their centers) are tuberous, and deciduous, they spread from seeds around the mother plant.

Viola riviniana (V. labradorica 'Purpurea'), Viola odorata and Viola hederacea spread by layering stems (hope this is the correct word... Melissa, help me! :o)) but also reseed themselves freely (and abundantely), except for V. hederacea (aka Viola banksii). These violas are also evergreen.

Viola hederacea isn't fragrant, unfortunately, but she's so pretty....
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Here is a link that might be useful: Viola banksii/hederacea at ASGAP website

Since you live in a warm zone, I'd recommend growing Parma violets - they have double flowers and are almost completely incapable of seed production (seedlings of this variety are cherished if and when they happen, which is on the order of once in a hundred years or more, it seems). They spread by runners, have a wonderful history (see Napoleon, Josephine and Marie Louise), and are gloriously fragrant. In my opinion, they're a natural for mixing with roses, although I've certainly grown other types (Viola odorata, Viola labradorica, etc. - although I carefully avoid Viola sororia). In your zone the Parmas should be capable of blooming from November through April, as they produce full-sized flowers when the days are short and temperatures cool to mild. They do appreciate plenty of food and water just as roses do, so if your manure is well-rotted, they probably will enjoy it immensely.

morrisnoor!

I hadnt thought about it! Sorry If I posted misleading advise! The Hybrids that I grow, from seed take 2-3 years to establish but I never thought they were invasive like people were talking about, I always seem to be able to rip them up pretty easily. I do have some sort of Violia that is very invasive, I just forget about it, it grows all throughout my lawn, It will usually bloom right before I have to start mowing, so it does create pretty patches, then I mow it for the rest of the year and forget about it, until you just mentioned the difference. If I was trying to use that in my garden beds, I would quickly be disgusted by it since it has taken over 30 or 40 feet of my lawn. Sorry if I confused anyone!!!

Silverkelt

I have some type of wild violets. They fill in empty spots and so far haven't gone out of control. DH complains about them in the lawn, but they get mowed over and die back there. I like them.

I don't encourage Viola odorata, our native wild violet, in borders but like them growing in gravel and in my woodland. My favourite horn violet, Viola cornuta, is 'Boughton Blue' which has a very long flowering season, perfect under roses. It is far from other violas and keeps true to name. My other 10 varieties all grow together and have interbred terribly. I have no idea which is which.

Marianne