Crowd Out Invasive Weeds With A Fast-Growing Annual Flower

Eliminating weeds in the garden can feel like a never-ending battle. They steal nutrients from your plants, mess up the look of your landscaping, and can sometimes even harm the surrounding environment. While pulling them out or reaching for herbicides might be your first instinct, there's a more natural solution that many gardeners overlook — using fast-growing plants to crowd out weeds. By filling the space with plants that grow quickly, you can stop weeds from even getting a chance to take root.

One excellent option for this, sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima), is a fast-growing annual flower that not only handles weeds but also adds beauty to your garden. This flower grows quickly, forming dense mats of growth that leave no room for unwanted weeds to take root. It also attracts beneficial insects, like bees and butterflies, with clusters of tiny, sweet-smelling flowers that come in white, pink, or purple. Native to the Mediterranean, sweet alyssum adapts well to various growing conditions. It's known for its ability to spread across the soil, effectively blocking out weeds by hogging all the sunlight and nutrients, choking out weeds naturally without the need for chemicals.

Planting sweet alyssum is simple, even if you're new to gardening. The best spot in your garden to plant sweet alyssum is somewhere with full sun to partial shade, perhaps beneath a shrub or a young tree. It prefers well-drained soil; however, it's also surprisingly tolerant of poor soil conditions, making it a versatile option for different garden environments. You can either sow the seeds directly into the soil after the last frost or start them indoors a few weeks earlier for quicker results. The seeds are tiny, so sprinkle them lightly and cover them with a thin layer of soil.

Once established, sweet alyssum requires minimal maintenance. Water it regularly, especially during hot and dry periods, but don't let the soil get waterlogged. Once it's matured, the plants can handle drought pretty well. If you want to keep the blooms coming throughout the season, try deadheading(removing spent flowers) to encourage fresh growth, keeping your garden colorful and weed-free. Additionally, since sweet alyssum attracts beneficial insects, like ladybugs, it will help you keep garden pests, like aphids, under control. This makes sweet alyssum beneficial as a companion plant for vegetables or other flowering plant species.