Roots

Some plants should be loved better than they are, but for the roots.  Violets, for example, spread by both running roots and seed.  The roots are tenacious and must be dug.  Since they bloom from November into March, violets earn their keep, with color and fragrance both, but they must be kept under control.  Another decent plant with running roots is Japanese anenome.  These are easier to control in shade than sun, oddly enough, since they are considered shade plants.  One of mine was happy in full sun, happy enough to spread and spread while I was busy with other things, but in this case the plant's good points do not outweigh the bad.  The white flowers that bloom in September are appealing but do not cut well, which is a prime consideration for me.  Plus, the foliage gets quite burned and tattered in the sun.  They do not earn the four feet cubed of space and more that they gobble up.  So out they come.  The problem is all the little pieces of roots happily continue to grow.  Today has been a very frustrating day for several reasons making it a good one to engage in digging roots and clearing clumps of violets and anenome roots.