Terracotta pot overflowing with white Alyssum Carpet of Snow on a stone patio

Alyssum Carpet of Snow

£2.20
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Terracotta pot overflowing with white Alyssum Carpet of Snow on a stone patio
Beginner friendly

Alyssum Carpet of Snow

Lobularia maritima 'Carpet of Snow'

A low carpet of honey-scented pure white flowers from late spring through autumn — perfect for path edges, rockeries and the cracks between paving stones.

£2.20

Free UK delivery on seed orders over £40

Dispatched from our Norfolk farm by Royal Mail, usually within one working day.

Your growing year

Sow, plant out and flowering months for this variety

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sow
Plant out
In flower
SowPlant outIn flower

At a glance

Height
10–15cm
Spread
30-40cm
Spacing
15cm
Position
Full sun preferred; tolerates light part shade
Colour
White
Seeds per packet
1,200
Soil
Average to poor, well-drained; drought-tolerant when established
Grow guide How to grow Alyssum Carpet of Snow Read the full guide →

About this variety

A low mat of tiny white flowers at 10 to 15cm, from late spring through to autumn, with a honey scent that is remarkable for the size of the flower. Plant it where you will walk past it, along a path edge or in the cracks between paving, because the scent is the best thing about it.

It goes tatty in midsummer. In a hot dry spell the centre browns off and the flowering stalls, and a lot of people assume it has died and pull it out. Shear the whole thing back by half and it will flush again within a few weeks and carry on into October.

It self-seeds, gently rather than aggressively, so expect a scatter of seedlings in the gravel and paving next spring. That is usually welcome, but worth knowing before you sow it somewhere you want kept clean. Grow it lean and sunny; rich ground gives soft leafy growth and fewer flowers. Bees work it constantly, and it draws in hoverflies, which is reason enough to run a line of it through the vegetable beds.