Dianthus (Caryophyllaceae)
Known as pinks, not for their color, but for the deeply cut, frilly flower petals, The term ‘pinked’ is an old word for cutting decorative, frilly edging in clothes etc. There are about 340 species distributed mostly through Europe and Asia with a few North American species. Some species are noted for their strong spicy fragrance. We have been growing several species. Some are short lived, seeding around for years to come. Some of the best are the more alpine species that form tidy mounds of evergreen foliage. The best ones are more challenging to grow, especially in our climate. Most require a sunny site with poor, well drained soils.
Known as pinks, not for their color, but for the deeply cut, frilly flower petals, The term ‘pinked’ is an old word for cutting decorative, frilly edging in clothes etc. There are about 340 species distributed mostly through Europe and Asia with a few North American species. Some species are noted for their strong spicy fragrance. We have been growing several species. Some are short lived, seeding around for years to come. Some of the best are the more alpine species that form tidy mounds of evergreen foliage. The best ones are more challenging to grow, especially in our climate. Most require a sunny site with poor, well drained soils.
Known as pinks, not for their color, but for the deeply cut, frilly flower petals, The term ‘pinked’ is an old word for cutting decorative, frilly edging in clothes etc. There are about 340 species distributed mostly through Europe and Asia with a few North American species. Some species are noted for their strong spicy fragrance. We have been growing several species. Some are short lived, seeding around for years to come. Some of the best are the more alpine species that form tidy mounds of evergreen foliage. The best ones are more challenging to grow, especially in our climate. Most require a sunny site with poor, well drained soils.
We have good luck with D. Arenarius, ‘Little Maiden’. It forms a dense mound of evergreen, grassy foliage with white flowers forming on wiry 6 in. stems from July to September. D. Deltoides ‘Arctic fire’ has frilly white flowers and a bright red eye. Can be a little seedy. D Gratianopolitanus, the legendary ‘Cheddars’ from England has bright pink to red flowers. D. plumarius, cottage pinks, is an old fashioned variety to 18” that can form dense mats of low foliage. All carry that strong clove-like scent. Prefers poor, well drained soil. The right varieties make beautiful additions to the rock garden. We will continue to grow out species and varieties from this variable genus as we find them.