Help identify this mystery plant in my garden

[csziggy]

It was a volunteer but I've never seen anything like it in my garden. I did get a load of topsoil last winter so the seeds may have come in that. It is low growing, the blossoms only are about 4" above the ground, but it has spread to cover about half a square yard. The foliage is delicate. When we pulled weeds and mulched I left it because it is sort of attractive, even if does have purple flowers.

[Chipper Chat]

1. My first reaction is that it's a weed.

A very pretty weed.
But I'm no expert.

[Ocelot II]

2. Maybe a kind of phlox?

[soothsayer]

4. Yeah maybe wild blue phlox?

http://mywildflowers.com/detail.asp?photo=yrt9&p1=searchpage.asp&c1=Search&c2=Results&mode=search&searchin=sname&srch=Phlox%20divaricata&itype=fruit/seed%27,%27flower%27,%27leaf%27,%27bud%27,%27tech

[csziggy]

5. No, the flowers are very small, less than half an inch across

I'm very familiar with the phlox varieties that grow around here in north Florida and further south in Florida. These are none of those.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Kali]

3. Kind of looks like some kind of verbena

[csziggy]

7. It does - but most of the vebena varieties seem to have long upright stems

For the flowers. This stuff has very low growth and the stems for the flowers are laid down:

[RicROC]

6. i took a photo of your photo and put it on my app

called Plant Snap.

Moss Verbena (Glandularia aristigera)

[Ocelot II]

8. Looking at the leaves, I think that's it.

[csziggy]

9. YES! That's it! Doing my research now...

It's not native to Florida - introduced from South America and now naturalized in the Southeast.

But it's supposed to bloom all of the warm and hot seasons. I'll let it stay for now. If it gets too aggressive, I can always take it out, or move it up on our limestone walls since it is said to well there.