Iberis

Another sun-loving evergreen perennial, or sub-shrub, from around the Mediterranean. Typically, from dry places by the coast or inland, often on limestone. Lovely flattened clusters of white to pink flowers, spring to summer.

The 'lop-sided' flowers of candytufts, with two petals usually larger and longer than the others, attract bees and flies as pollinators, as well as butterflies seeking a sip of nectar. However, as its tissues contain protective chemicals, they are not eaten by larvae of the 'cabbage whites', unlike several other members of the cress family. Perennial species often have an evergreen, clump-forming growth form that affords shade and shelter for invertebrates and amphibians, valuable in a dry garden especially.