Lean in close, and you’ll catch the soft, honey-like fragrance drifting from those tiny white blossoms. Sweet Alyssum, also known as Sweet Alice or Seaside Lobularia, is a fast-growing, low-growing, mat-forming annual with small, narrow, grey-green leaves that are softly hairy. From spring through autumn (and often year-round in mild coastal gardens), it produces an abundance of tiny, four-petalled, honey-scented flowers in dense, terminal clusters, completely covering the foliage in a soft, billowing cloud of pure white, soft pink, lavender, or deep purple. Those blooms are highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.
Native to the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands, Sweet Alyssum has proven wonderfully suited to the Western Cape’s temperate climate. It thrives in full sun to partial shade—a sunny spot is best, though it tolerates light shade, especially in hotter inland gardens. It’s unfussy about soil, growing well in most well-drained types, including sandy, loamy, and even poor, rocky soils. Once established, it’s moderately drought-tolerant but looks best with regular watering. It excels in coastal conditions, handling salt spray and windy positions with ease, and is hardy to light frost. Reaching only 8–15 cm tall and spreading 30–60 cm wide, it’s perfect for mass plantings as flowering groundcover, edging pathways, spilling from hanging baskets, or tumbling over rock walls.
Key Features:
- Masses of tiny, sweetly fragrant flowers in white, pink, lavender, or purple create a soft, billowing carpet of colour
- Honey-scented blooms are irresistible to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects
- One of the longest-blooming annuals—spring through autumn, often year-round in mild coastal gardens
- Low, spreading stems perfect for softening container edges, edging pathways, or flowering groundcover
Gardening Note: Plant in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil. Water regularly until established; mature plants are moderately drought-tolerant but bloom best with consistent moisture. Trim or shear plants lightly by up to half when they become leggy or flowering slows—they’ll quickly regrow a fresh flush. Easily grown from seed or seedlings; often self-seeds gently in the garden. Generally pest and disease-free.
