Sweet alyssum

Meet sweet alyssum, the flower you smell before you see. Its tiny white, pink or purple blooms open in clusters, and UF/IFAS says the carpet of flowers smells like honey. Bees and butterflies find it at once, and RHS lists it as a recommended plant for pollinators.

It does the quiet jobs in a Dubai bed: it spills over the edge of a pot, fills the gap between taller flowers and covers bare soil, so that a planting looks finished rather than dotted. Dubai Municipality plants it in September alongside petunia, and its Arabic name there is simply «أليسم».

It is also a lesson in reading the label. UF/IFAS says the old seed-grown types are poor performers compared with the newer cutting-grown ones, some of which are named for their heat tolerance, and in Dubai that difference may decide whether the carpet lasts to April or collapses in March.

Lobularia maritima is a low annual (or short-lived perennial) in the cabbage family, and UF/IFAS describes it as a mounding groundcover about 12 inches (30 cm) tall and wide whose clusters of white, pink or purple flowers bloom continuously from winter through spring. RHS gives it as under 10 cm tall with a spread of up to 50 cm. NC State says white-flowered types are the most fragrant, with a scent of new-mown hay or honey.

Dubai Municipality names alyssum in its seasonal flower lists (Emirates 24|7 in 2016, Al Bayan in 2020), and Gulf News reported it planted in September alongside petunia. Acacia's Dubai calendar lists sweet alyssum for October and January planting. UF/IFAS says to plant from October until late spring in Florida. NC State adds that the bloom declines in hot summers, so in Dubai, where April's mean maximum is 33.7 °C and May's 38.2 °C, it is a September-to-April plant.

It grows in full sun and takes some shade (UF/IFAS), and NC State says it appreciates afternoon shade and tolerates dry soil. The one thing it insists on is drainage: NC State says very good drainage is a must, and plants decline in poorly drained soil and can suffer stem and crown rots. Dubai's sandy soil gives it that, so the work is to feed it, since UF/IFAS says regular water and fertiliser give the most flowers, and to choose a heat-tolerant, cutting-grown type where you can.