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These plants/weeds are everywhere in my garden. Could someone confirm whether they are weeds or a plant (ground cover perhaps)? They are slightly different as you can see one of them has an actual leaf shape.enter image description here

Whilst the other one is round and grows in small clumps everywhere.enter image description here

I'm from Sydney, Australia. Thanks!

Lisa
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    I think what you have is a Wild Ginger (Asarum), but I'm not sure which variety. Have you ever seen it bloom? Asarum blooms are close to the ground and you won't notice them if you aren't looking for them, so you may not have. And is this area partially shaded? – michelle Feb 22 '16 at 14:11

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The first picture shows what appears to be Sweet violet foliage (Viola odorata), though I'm not sure this is something which grows readily where you are - link below contains a couple of pics of the foliage

http://www.wildheartpermaculture.co.uk/?p=2177

If it is violets, you'd be seeing small lilac coloured flowers a bit later on, or in spring anyway. If you've already got a violet or two somewhere, its likely that, because they do seed themselves readily.

There is something else in the same picture with different leaves, just four leaves are visible in the centre of the pic, not sure what that is, but its not the same as the violet leaves.

The last pic, showing the much rounder leaves, could be Asara, as already suggested by Michelle, but could also be Violet, hard to be certain at this stage. Either way, you probably don't want quite so many in the border...

Bamboo
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  • I think both pics are showing violets. – Escoce Feb 22 '16 at 14:30
  • You might be right, I was hesitating about whether they were or not... am about to magnify the second pic to check properly – Bamboo Feb 22 '16 at 14:32
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    Violet blossoms may also be white or, rarely, yellow. – Wayfaring Stranger Feb 22 '16 at 15:27
  • The scale is what I'm wondering about - relative to the bricks, the leaves seem large for violets, but relative to the blades of grass they could be violets. If they flower it will be clear. – michelle Feb 22 '16 at 16:33
  • Violets come in all shapes and sizes even within the same species. In Iowa our violet leaves were as large as half a dollar bill. In Connecticut, my ex-wife's front yard has a blanket patch with leaves the size of US Quarters (25 cent piece). I think leaf size has more to do with available light. I have seen mostly violet and white, yellow blossoms are less common. – Escoce Feb 22 '16 at 21:13
  • Thinkin the same, Bamboo. Not what they look like in my area, exactly, but they do look like violets. The rhizomes should prove. – J. Musser Feb 23 '16 at 00:12
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    Also with violets you can take a leaf stem and break it carefully, and there will be a slippery white inner stem that can be pulled out (not sure anyone else has done this haha) – J. Musser Feb 23 '16 at 00:14
  • If the Wild Violet gets a hold into your lawn they will be exceedingly difficult to remove. Most weed killers don't work. Something specifically for Wild Violet will take multiple applications 4 to 6 days apart. – JerryOL Feb 24 '16 at 17:18