Thanks Jeb I thought it might be :)

Beautiful plant, but be very careful. It can be extremely difficult to remove from unwanted areas. A raised border planter won't necessarily be sufficient to contain spread--it can send rhizomes down and then laterally. (Picture down a raised planter and under a 3-4' concrete walkway.) If brave enough, I would put it in a solid bottomed planter with just drainage holes below, on top of solid concrete. And then be very careful with the pruning pieces. Definitely do not reuse the soil. I love the look of the plant, but don't dare introduce it into my CA garden.

Thanks. The Ulmus was apparently raised since a seedling and was pruned every year for the past 8 years until the person gave it up, now I'll have to plant it somewhere.

I had to look up 'Patterson's Curse :-)) Darn common names!! It's definitely an echium but hard to differentiate between the two likely suspects mentioned. Both seem to be heavily present and equally aggressive in that region. I am personally only familiar with E. vulgare. And those photos sure look similar. It is a great plant for pollinators but far too rampant in its growth. It is a listed noxious weed in my area.