Mixed with other bedding plants, a carpet of white alyssum can serve as a filler....

Alternatively, planted by itself, this annual flower can function as a temporary ground cover. Note that white alyssum is distinct from the perennial, yellow alyssum. Annual alyssum flowers can also be purple or rose, as well as other colors.

If you're the type of gardener who bothers only with the new and flashy (or who grows nothing but perennials), then white alyssum may not be for you. But if you strive to make your yard look like a million bucks during the summer, there's a place in your landscaping for annuals such as alyssum.