It's a Mahonia of some variety, Piers. Blooming at that apparent height, it is probably M. repens, which can make a ground cover about 30 cm tall, 1-2 meters wide, spreading by underground stems. The yellow flowers will probably be followed by clusters of blandish blue berries. If it is a volunteer seedling, its ultimate height and spread will be hard to predict--Mahonias hybridize fairly easily.

Looks like Mahonia aquifolium to me.

It could be, Landgirl. The foliage and flowers are virtually identical, but, in my experience, M. aquifolium waits until it is nearly a meter tall before blooming.

Hello,

There are quite a few of these, and all of them are relatively low to the ground. The main stems are generally growing at an angle rather than straight up.

Assuming it's M. repens, or some kind of hybrid thereof, am I right in thinking it's a good ground cover plant, and will spread out of left to its own devices?

I don't have a huge garden, and the plants I inherited from the previous owners are mostly larger shrubs plus some bulbs and a couple of small trees. I have a small empty bed semi-shaded by a rather sparse privet hedge that I'm looking to populate with new plants.

Is M. repens something worth transplanting into this bed, and are there any points to consider if I do?

Thanks,

Piers.

It is one of the best low plants for dry shade, as under evergreens or hedges. In northern Arizona, it grows wild as low understory in dry Ponderosa pine woods. It spreads widely by underground stems On the other hand, it rarely makes a solid cover, tending to form irregular clumps a meter across, with spaces in between.