Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
The root of my name.

The name alyssum comes from Greek:
“a-” (not) + “lyssa” (madness or rage)
→ without madness—or calming.

Alyssum is a small, drought-tolerant flower. It grows low to the ground, holding the soil in place, softening sharp edges, and thriving in unfamiliar climates. Not by pushing itself forward, but through quiet persistence and resonance with place. Often cultivated in gardens far from its native Mediterranean home.

There, it's tended for the bees and butterflies it draws in—a subtle invitation to pollination and interconnection, carried on the honey-sweet scent it releases when the wind is right.

It feeds others while holding its ground. A living gesture of reciprocity.

Each bloom is modest. But together, they carpet garden spaces—changing the feel of a landscape not through spectacle, but like small, steady acts of kindness.

I didn’t choose my name, Alyssa. My parents did.
But I’ve tried to live up to it.

I don’t claim to be calm, or soft. But I do try to be clear and steady.
To act with intention. To adapt in shifting times and harsher climates.
To offer orientation over ornament.
To belong without feeling the need to prove it.

Alyssum reminds us that what endures isn’t always loud.
It listens. It holds.
It creates the conditions for others to grow.

Welcome.