Hi y'all...I just moved to the UK a few months ago and my English boyfriend and I are renting a fabulous cottage outside Basingstoke. It has a tremendous garden and we have spent a good part of the spring and early summer trying to figure out what is growing there.

Just recently, under the beautiful rose bushes in front of the house, some low-growing ground cover with serated semi-broad leaves started covering one side of a bed. Since the people who lived here before us were obviously veteran gardeners, we think it might be something to keep since it is so pervasive along that bed's border.

I brought a sample cutting to a garden centre here, but no one was able to identify it. In the past week, it has started sending out long viney shoots with bright blue star-shaped flowers. We thought it might be borage, and the leaves evidence of strawberries, but we are at a loss.

Other than these beautiful blue flowers, nothing else has budded on these plants, so I can't be sure they are actually strawberries. Are they weeds? Are they food? We have no idea. But they grow like crazy and soon take over the bed if not kept in line.

We have looked EVERYWHERE online to try to identify the blue flowers and the closest are the borage, but not quite. The leaves do not have a scent of cucumber.

Does anyone know of a good site where we can search for images of flowers...even the comprehensive gardening books don't have any images similar to what we're seeing.

We also are growing our first crop of vegetables and herbs, and are enjoying finding new plants budding and sprouting throughout this little piece of heaven. We look forward to participating and learning more from all of you.

Most sincerely,
Elektra

In article m,
ElektraUK writes
We have looked EVERYWHERE online to try to identify the blue flowers

and the closest are the borage, but not quite. The leaves do not have

a scent of cucumber.

If it's not borage, you could try searching on related plants - try
alkanet, pentaglottis, anchusa.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Just a suggestion.

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/...vincamino.html

Regards,
Emrys Davies.




"ElektraUK" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi y'all...I just moved to the UK a few months ago and my English
boyfriend and I are renting a fabulous cottage outside Basingstoke.
It
has a tremendous garden and we have spent a good part of the spring
and
early summer trying to figure out what is growing there.

Just recently, under the beautiful rose bushes in front of the house,
some low-growing ground cover with serated semi-broad leaves started
covering one side of a bed. Since the people who lived here before us
were obviously veteran gardeners, we think it might be something to
keep since it is so pervasive along that bed's border.

I brought a sample cutting to a garden centre here, but no one was
able
to identify it. In the past week, it has started sending out long
viney shoots with bright blue star-shaped flowers. We thought it
might
be borage, and the leaves evidence of strawberries, but we are at a
loss.

Other than these beautiful blue flowers, nothing else has budded on
these plants, so I can't be sure they are actually strawberries. Are
they weeds? Are they food? We have no idea. But they grow like
crazy
and soon take over the bed if not kept in line.

We have looked EVERYWHERE online to try to identify the blue flowers
and the closest are the borage, but not quite. The leaves do not have
a scent of cucumber.

Does anyone know of a good site where we can search for images of
flowers...even the comprehensive gardening books don't have any images
similar to what we're seeing.

We also are growing our first crop of vegetables and herbs, and are
enjoying finding new plants budding and sprouting throughout this
little piece of heaven. We look forward to participating and learning
more from all of you.

Most sincerely,
Elektra
--
ElektraUK
ElektraUK
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk

Emrys Davies wrote:
Just a suggestion.

http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/...vincamino.html

Regards,
Emrys Davies.



First thing I pictured in my head from the description were
periwinkles...........

Les



"ElektraUK" wrote in
message s.com...
Hi y'all...I just moved to the UK a few months ago and my English
boyfriend and I are renting a fabulous cottage outside Basingstoke.
It has a tremendous garden and we have spent a good part of the
spring and early summer trying to figure out what is growing there.


Just recently, under the beautiful rose bushes in front of the house,
some low-growing ground cover with serated semi-broad leaves started
covering one side of a bed. Since the people who lived here before
us were obviously veteran gardeners, we think it might be something
to keep since it is so pervasive along that bed's border.

I brought a sample cutting to a garden centre here, but no one was
able to identify it. In the past week, it has started sending out
long viney shoots with bright blue star-shaped flowers. We thought
it might be borage, and the leaves evidence of strawberries, but we
are at a loss.

Other than these beautiful blue flowers, nothing else has budded on
these plants, so I can't be sure they are actually strawberries. Are
they weeds? Are they food? We have no idea. But they grow like
crazy and soon take over the bed if not kept in line.

We have looked EVERYWHERE online to try to identify the blue flowers
and the closest are the borage, but not quite. The leaves do not
have a scent of cucumber.

Does anyone know of a good site where we can search for images of
flowers...even the comprehensive gardening books don't have any
images similar to what we're seeing.

We also are growing our first crop of vegetables and herbs, and are
enjoying finding new plants budding and sprouting throughout this
little piece of heaven. We look forward to participating and
learning more from all of you.

Most sincerely,
Elektra
--
ElektraUK
ElektraUK
----------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk



--
http://www.stuffmongers.com

"Homo sapiens, the first truly free species, is about to decommission
natural selection, the force that made us.... Soon we must look deep
within ourselves and decide what we wish to become." Edward O. Wilson
Consilience, The Unity of Knowledge

Remove frontal lobes to reply from a NG

Thanks, everyone, for their replies. I checked out the different flowers you named, as well as the great website with flower pics (have that one in my favorites now).

The flowers you have named are not the same as what we are seeing. The petals of the smallish (1 inch) flowers we have are very pointed--it really looks like bright blue starfish growing along a vine-like stem among a sea of green serated ground cover.

Our neighbor has a similar patch growing along a rock wall, but they do not know what it is either. We haven't seen it anywhere else in the garden, so we don't think it's a weed. Hmmm, a garden mystery!

I have another one:

We have a large shrub (about 6 ft high) with large (3 inch) bright yellow blooms. The flowers cluster in threes, but open at different times. They each have 5 rounded petals, with a conical tube-like stamen jutting out from a yellow hairy center. The shrub is just now bursting with blossoms, but before it ever re-greened after winter, it had a spell of flowers in late winter. No scent to the flowers, and the shrub sends out runners along the bottom. Haven't been able to identify it in the usual manner.

We have plenty of mystery plants here...

All the best, Elektra UK

"ElektraUK" wrote in message
s.com...
Rose of Sharon?

Sue

We have a large shrub (about 6 ft high) with large (3 inch) bright
yellow blooms. The flowers cluster in threes, but open at different
times. They each have 5 rounded petals, with a conical tube-like
stamen jutting out from a yellow hairy center. The shrub is just now
bursting with blossoms, but before it ever re-greened after winter, it
had a spell of flowers in late winter. No scent to the flowers, and
the shrub sends out runners along the bottom. Haven't been able to
identify it in the usual manner.

We have plenty of mystery plants here...

All the best, Elektra UK
--
ElektraUK
ElektraUK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk



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Version: 6.0.657 / Virus Database: 422 - Release Date: 13/04/2004

Campanula, perhaps?
Choccie

That's what I thought - sounds like C. porscharskyana.
I had this is my previous garden and it fits the general description -
very pretty but a
total thug! Easily kept in check though as parts can just be pulled out
and
the rest keeps going strong.

Ellkebe




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Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

In article m,
ElektraUK writes
Thanks, everyone, for their replies. I checked out the different
flowers you named, as well as the great website with flower pics (have
that one in my favorites now).

The flowers you have named are not the same as what we are seeing. The
petals of the smallish (1 inch) flowers we have are very pointed--it
really looks like bright blue starfish growing along a vine-like stem
among a sea of green serated ground cover.

Our neighbor has a similar patch growing along a rock wall, but they do
not know what it is either. We haven't seen it anywhere else in the
garden, so we don't think it's a weed. Hmmm, a garden mystery!

I have another one:

We have a large shrub (about 6 ft high) with large (3 inch) bright
yellow blooms. The flowers cluster in threes, but open at different
times. They each have 5 rounded petals, with a conical tube-like
stamen jutting out from a yellow hairy center. The shrub is just now
bursting with blossoms, but before it ever re-greened after winter, it
had a spell of flowers in late winter. No scent to the flowers, and
the shrub sends out runners along the bottom. Haven't been able to
identify it in the usual manner.

Hypericum? But that's too obvious an answer, so probably not.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 14:26:30 +0100, Kay
wrote:

We have a large shrub (about 6 ft high) with large (3 inch) bright
yellow blooms. The flowers cluster in threes, but open at different
times. They each have 5 rounded petals, with a conical tube-like
stamen jutting out from a yellow hairy center. The shrub is just now
bursting with blossoms, but before it ever re-greened after winter, it
had a spell of flowers in late winter. No scent to the flowers, and
the shrub sends out runners along the bottom. Haven't been able to
identify it in the usual manner.

Hypericum? But that's too obvious an answer, so probably not.

Hypericum 'Hidcote' - I'll put money on it. As far as descriptions
go, this is an excellent one, precise and pretty accurate. Well done
to the OP - it shows good powers of observation. The "conical
tube-like stamen" is the stigma and style above the (superior) ovary,
which appears within the flower. The "hairy center" is the mass of
stamens.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November
Drop 's' when mailing