Friday, May 15, 2009

Snow Crystals Sweet Alyssum



Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima 'Snow Crystals'
(lob-yoo-LAR-ee-uh) (muh-RIT-tim-muh)
Synonyms: Sweet Alison, Seaside Lobularia

This Alyssum took off in the garden. A carpet of pure white. After having grown ‘New Carpet of Snow’ for many years this one was new to me this year. I noticed the flowers are much bigger on ‘Snow Crystals’. It also seems to have a little more fragrance and that is a wonderful smell to have in the garden.

This picture could have used a little more Depth of Field. I just wanted to show the densely packed 'snow crystals'.

Alyssum is easy to grow. It is really what I consider a cool weather annual. It hangs on during the summer (adequate water helps) and usually does pretty well during the fall. It often self-seeds and I can’t quite tell if it comes back true. There seems to be a little variation at least. You can also seed it directly on the ground and have a good show. Around here we do that as soon as the soil can be worked.

1 comment:

Misti said...

I grew some alyssum a few years ago from seed as well as potted plants from the nursery. It did well during our winter months and I wished I could keep it all summer