Your Xenon Princess for the long summer

Oh my, it’s the bomb! To be exact, it is the Cherry Bomb, an incredible mix that I’ve been seeing at garden centers this year featuring Superbells Cherry Star Calibrachoa, Supertunia Black Cherry petunia and the pristine white Snow Princess sweet alyssum.

This explosion of color should last all simmer on your porch, patio or deck. If you don’t find this ready-made mix, look for the separate ingredients and make your own at home.

This mix once again shows the versatility of Snow Princess sweet alyssum. To be honest, this plant deserves a name like Xenon Warrior Princess of the Garden. Consider this: Son James, the color design guru in Columbus, planted it in a container in April 2019. It has not stopped blooming a year later — which is freakish.

Our winter was cold enough to zap camellia blossoms and Southern Indica azaleas but mild enough that Snow Princess has bloomed for a year. Skip the annual and perennial designation and go directly to eternal! Obviously, no one should count on this at their house, but wow, what a trouper.

Snow Princess has been out a decade plus a year, and as they told me in 2009 it is a sweet alyssum that will bloom all summer in Orlando, Fla. I didn’t believe it then, but I am now totally convinced. It is the perfect “pansy pal.” At the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens, we grew it with pansies and blue delphiniums.

It is “heavenly with hibiscus.” In downtown Savannah in front one of the most famous movie locations it was a blanket of white with yellow hibiscus. It almost goes without saying, it is “sensational with salvias” too! Snow Princess sweet alyssum combines wonderfully with just about everything, making the combos look better — and the fragrance is oh so sweet.

As good as it is in the landscape, it may be even more dazzling in baskets, containers and boxes. Though I am touting the original Snow Princess, know there is also a Blushing Princess with dozens of awards for its fragrant lavender-tinted blossoms.