Hi belgianpup!
I live in Spokane. I am not sure what they mean by that statement either. It is a fairly easy plant to grow. I have Alyssum 'Summit', which is a cultivar. I bought it at a nursery after it was past its prime. It looked a bit ratty at first, but it was beautiful last year. I like it so well plan to get more in the spring. It does well in a semi-dry area of my garden.

It is well behaved. You can shear it back after it blooms, but I never do. It isn't one of those plants that is terribly ugly after it blooms. Besides, I hope that it might set seed.
It forms a compact mat against the ground. If you live near or have visited the Seattle area I am sure you have also seen it used on rock walls. It is beautiful cascading down them. I think they would do very well for you.
Hope this helps you!
CMK

The correct name is Aurinia saxitile and it is most often listed as a rather low maintenance plant, as are a lot of common rock garden species. Why they gave it that description is a bit of a mystery to me, too!!

And yes, it is extremely common here in the Seattle area, where it is used extensively on the top of rock walls, in rockeries or as a border edging plant. It's a kind of a confirmation that spring is really here when you see the screaming yellow flowers in full bloom in April and May! Not the slightest bit invasive, it doesn't even seem to reseed much but does spread out through rather slowly creeping stems that root along their length. Drought tolerant when established and the only attention it seems to require is annual shearing back after flowering to keep the plant compact and tidy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basket of Gold

Thank you for all the information! It sounds like just what I want.

Sue

I had it planted at my previous house. It was between rocks in a stone wall that held up a perennial bed, and took virtually no maintenance at all, just a trim after flowering (which was so profuse the old flower stems detracted from the soft gray foliage) and once in early spring to trim back foliage that was winter killed. It just got bigger every year, and for all I know may still be there. I do know one place where it lived for 15 years or so until someone dug it out, so at least around here it is long-lived. I never saw seedlings, though I wouldn't have minded having a few.

I love this plant. I sowed the seeds in spring of 2007 and it took one year for them to flower - Below is a picture from February 2008 - I love the yellow - it's so cheerful and welcoming in early spring. Everything is just starting to emerge in this picture, so the alyssum was such a pleasure.

{{gwi:195176}}

Carrie

One of my favorites,too. I used to have it planted along the edge of a small bed of pink and white tulips and grape hyacinth. Each year it grew more lovely, and how it did so in poor soil under a pine tree I don't know. There was no heavy shade from the pine because lower limbs had been trimmed off due to die off. But the soil was very thin.
The tulip bed was a traffic stopper for quite a few years.
I must find a place to plant Basket of Gold this Spring.