It's too bad that sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) grows so low to the ground: The mounded masses of tiny white, pink, lavender, or violet blooms smell like honey. You can bring this groundcover closer to nose level by planting it in containers, window boxes, or hanging baskets.
Producing mounds of tiny, fragrant flowers in pink, white, or lavender, sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is a favorite cool-season flower for garden beds and containers. It's usually grown as an annual, but is a short-lived perennial in Zones 9 and warmer. It can withstand temperatures down to about 28° F if well established.
Annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) prefers cool temperatures to bloom, but won't survive hard freezes. Keep the flowers blooming in winter by mulching the plants well and covering them during frosts. Some varieties are earlier flowering, such as the Winter Sunshine and Winter Elegance series, both of which can bloom through winter in the warmest regions of Texas, California, and Florida.
If you love sugar, you may not like this one. Sadly, sugar has one of the worst environmental footprints. WWF reveals that sugarcane is one of the most harmful crops for the planet2, as it replaces habitats rich in plant, insect, and animal life.
Moreover, it requires the intensive use of land, water, and pesticides while causing soil erosion and deforestation.
Some deforested lands have lost their carbon content, and the carbon is now in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
With this high climate impact, it is essential to look for a more sustainable sugar culture, including reducing our sugar consumption.
A portrait of a newborn baby girl with chubby cheeks, deep blue eyes, and a little tuft of light brown hair. She's swaddled in a soft pink blanket, lovingly embroidered with pastel-colored flowers. She's lying on a white fluffy cloud-shaped rug, atop a polished wooden floor. The background is a calm pastel nursery room subtly decorated with gentle, playful elements like a stuffed teddy bear. The letters 'Baneen' are artfully arranged on the wall.
Delicious tamarind is a slow-growing, long-lived, tropical tree reaching, under favorable conditions, a height of 40 or even 70 feet with a spread of 30 feet and a trunk that can reach a circumference of 15 feet. Highly wind resistant, the strong supple branches droop gracefully at the ends are blanketed in a mass of bright green fine, feathery foliage composed of narrow 3 to 6 inch long leaves. Inconspicuous flowers are 1 inch wide with yellow petals that may have orange or red streaks. The fruit is a beanlike bulging cinnamon brown colored pod that holds within a tart sticky paste like pulp around the seed. When ripe the outer pod skin becomes brittle and easy to crack making extraction of the dried pulp much easier.
Enjoy the juicy and refreshing taste of watermelon! With its sweet flavor and high water content, watermelon is a favorite fruit for staying hydrated and cool during hot days.
For a fragrant option, sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans) has pleasant-smelling small flowers that bloom during fall, winter, and spring, adding subtle interest to the landscape. "The blooms are small and not super showy, but they definitely have an appealing scent," says Abdi.
American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) is a woody deciduous tree that's often found in wet river bottoms and swamps, as well as on drier uplands. "It's noted for the star-like leaves and hard, spiked fruits with fall color that resemble embers of a fire," says Canney. "Regular care is essential, including regular watering, especially during periods of drought, and essential during the tree’s establishment phase."