Last year I planted Wonderland Purple in my morning sun garden. Was scrawny for awhile, but just went lush in the heat. This year I couldn't find it, ended up with generic blue (almost the same but lighter centers). Did get some reseeding but not enough. They are awesome now, even with the drought and not enough watering. These were six-packs, and both years I didn't get them in the ground as soon as I should have. Another area that gets sun from about 10 am on, I seeded Carpet of Snow last year. This gets much taller, but had a stronger smell last year. Haven't noticed as much smell this year, but they totally reseeded themselves and filled in as much as last year. I thought COS was supposed to be short, but it is nowhere near as compact as the Wonderland or this year's generic.

I bought 1/4 lb of alyssum seed along with my 1 lb of wildflower seeds last year from Wildseed Farms. When I sowed them (they are pretty small seeds) they were quite close, and I got areas here and there a few feet square with a very nice carpet effect and they smell wonderful. I didn't pinch them but there were so many seeds I guess they kind of layered on each other. This year it was an extra 1/4 of poppy seed, but the alyssum either reseeded or the alyssum in the fall sowing of mixed seed is already blooming because some of them are out there already.

Hi pm2 :-) Thanks for commenting. Palibin is pretty common around here, I just realized I had a row of Palibin under the kitchen window at my previous place (it's right down the street). lacey~Nothing beats S. vulgaris, eh? I could get lost in that scent... I guess it doesn't have to be pink, after all they only bloom for a couple of weeks. (pout) I have read that lilacs do need sufficient water in order for the buds not to dry up, but they don't need moist soil. And they don't need extra fertilizer, just compost in spring. And that full sun is best, and powdery mildew can be a problem, esp. in tight quarters. So maybe a hedge wouldn't be the best idea, but more of a grouping. I saw really pink lilacs by a local McDonalds yesterday, in high part shade. I'm going to do some sleuthing to see if I can find out which ones they are.

Alyssum should be one of the easiest annuals to grow. They self-seed freely, and even though the original plant doesn't make it through the winter in colder zones, you should get tiny seedlings underneath and in the area of the dead plant. They're definitely easy to dig up or rake over and probably destroy when/if you do a spring clean up. I always buy a few market packs just in case I don't get volunteers. The white does much better for me than the purple or rose varieties; the colored varieties seem to die out over the summer - and I've liked the white "Snow Crystals" best as it has slightly larger flowers. Last summer was unusual in many areas - heat, drought, etc. Alyssum will need water every now and again if you don't get rain. I wouldn't give up on them - buy a market pack of already blooming seedlings, put them in where they get plenty of sun, water a little and just let them grow. They do get a little limp for a week or so while they're settling in - resist the temptation to over water - but suddenly they spring up and should be in continuous bloom until the first hard frost knocks them down.