Sweet alyssum

Lobularia maritima

Brassicaceae

A honey-scented white mat that feeds hoverflies — the living mulch at the feet of cabbage and kale.

Lobularia, the honey-scented mat. Not Alyssum saxatile (basket-of-gold), a different mustard.

Parts used: Flower (insectary)
Traditional notes: Hoverfly understory · Path edging · Scent
Grow · USDA 6b: Hardy annual. Takes light frost. Direct in early spring, barely covered. Or cheap six-packs. In work: Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Sep · Oct
Harvest: Bloom is the harvest — leave it for the flies.

A skirt, not a second jungle. One row under the kale is enough.
Shear in July heat. Fall bloom is the better one some years.

Safety

Mustard-family caution only if you were going to eat handfuls, which you should not

Companions

Plant with Anise hyssop, Bee balm, Borage, Broccoli, Cabbage, Calendula.

Lore

Lobularia is a little lobe, the seed. Gardeners still say alyssum out of habit. The hoverfly work is the modern reason to keep it; the honey scent on stone steps is the old one.

The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.