"Carpet of Snow' is a reliable old cultivar, even an heirloom cultivar, that used to be the most common selection in the 1960's until around 2000. I think it is still used a lot, but many new similar white blooming selections have come forth that are a little more compact, as 'New Carpet of Snow' and that are a little more heat and humidity tolerant. However, there are some other white cultivars that get taller to 9 to12 inches and have bigger flowers. Sweet Alyssum loves cool weather that is not humid and does best in spring and fall, but makes it through hotter and more humid summer, though it does not thrive as much. It might even need some pruning down if it looks icky. It is very frost tolerant, but winter will finally kill it off usually in December. It is a short-lived perennial in its native habitat along the Mediterranean Sea but makes a usually reliable short annual that is often used as the outside edging of flower beds, or it works as a cascading annual out of a big pot.

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Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) 'Carpet of Snow' blooms all season with delicate pure-white flowers. It does well in partly sunny areas of the garden and is a lovely groundcover or underplanting for taller shrubs and perennials.

Lobularia maritima is a larval host plant for the Cabbage White and Checkered White butterflies. It also attracts a variety of beneficial insects including pirate, damsel, and bigeyed bugs, assassin bugs, lady bugs, and parasitic mini-wasps. These beneficial insects feed on a variety of garden pests.

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