One of my very favourites in the spring garden, perennial Aurinia saxatilis is a rounded mound of gold bling, giving brilliant colour when other plants are just getting ready to put on their own shows. Although short-blooming, basket of gold has beautiful grey-green leaves and a tidy, compact habit for a great look throughout the summer and into autumn. Best of all, I’ve noticed, most critters won’t bug basket of gold (although once I caught a young snowshoe hare taking a snooze in the middle of mine – at least he wasn’t gnawing on it!), and in several seasons, I’ve yet to have problems with diseases of any sort – and that’s in both dry and unusually wet summers. Easy-care and gorgeous – what more can you ask for?
The name game: Aurinia saxatilis is commonly called basket of gold, or more rarely, cloth of gold; it is also known as goldentuft or perennial alyssum due to it’s former taxonomic placement as Alyssum saxatile. You’ll still find it listed as Alyssum in some publications.
Cool cultivars: ‘Citrina’, ‘Summit’, ‘Dudley Nevill Variegated’, ‘Mountain Gold’
Are you growing basket of gold in your garden?
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Flowery Prose 
I have a gold “alyssum”, not sure if it’s the same one. It really does give the garden a glow in spring! Have never heard the name Basket of Gold, but it’s very appropriate. Mine is just “Grandad’s plant”, because they were the only seedlings that were left in his greenhouse when he died about 16 years ago! What a lovely reminder of a gardener!
Oh, that’s so wonderful when plants can serve as reminders of or tributes to a gardener – whenever you admire or work with the plant you can think of your loved one. That’s really special!
Hi! Check out my latest post. I just nominated you for A Lovely Blog award and Very Inspiring Blogger award 🙂
Thanks so much; that’s very kind of you! 🙂 I will make a proper response within a couple of days. Once again, I really appreciate the nominations!
Very lovely looking plant. I am not a lover of bright yellow, but we do have some other shades in our garden. Keep writing!