Herb. No. 249 · Brassicaceae
Mediterranean coastal mustard; a world edging plant.
Native · Mediterranean
Sweet alyssum
Lobularia maritima
Garden flowersFlowersHarvestCompanions
A honey-scented white mat that feeds hoverflies — the living mulch at the feet of cabbage and kale.
Sweet alyssum is a Mediterranean mustard grown as a flowering carpet. The scent is honey on a warm walk. Hoverfly larvae eat aphids; the adults need tiny flowers, and alyssum is built for them. Plant it as an understory in the brassica block, along paths, in the cracks of steps. It is edible in the trivial sense (mustard family), but this plate is a companion, not a salad. Heat can pause the bloom; shear it and water, and it comes back for fall.
Flavor
A faint mustard honey. Not worth a bowl.
Parts used
Flower (insectary)
Helpful
- The hoverfly diner of the brassica bed
- A living mulch that stays low
- Shears back into a second bloom
Cautions
- Heat pause in July
- Can seed into gravel
- Not a food crop