DIANTHUS. Pink. Europe, Asia, Africa. A large and varied group, best known for the Carnation and Sweet William. Those listed here are all perennials with attractive narrow leaves, grass-like or needle-like in some cases—arranged in basal clumps or along the stems. They produce a wealth of bright, often spicily scented flowers with fringe-edged petals in spring. Some bloom from spring through fall. Sun, reasonably well drained soil, moderate watering. Hardy to 0oF or less.
‘Brook’s Cottage’. A dense little hummock with narrow blue green leaves, decorated most of the summer by flat, sweetly fragrant, single flowers. These are about 1½ ” across and colored bright pink overall, with darker markings.
‘Helen’. This is a friend from Wintergreen days. It makes low mounds with 2" grey green leaves. The plant is seldom out of bloom during the growing season. It carries fragrant, double salmon pink flowers on 6-10" stems.
petraeus ssp. noeanus. Another atypical pink. It forms a dense, hard tuft with needle-like grey green leaves. Slender 6-8" stems rise in late spring, displaying clusters of scented white blossoms with narrow, deeply slashed petals. A fine rock garden perennial.
roysii roseus. Another fine pink for the rock garden, this one forms decorative hummocks with needle-like, bluish green leaves. In spring it bears many fragrant, 3/4" single rose-colored blossoms on 3-4" stems.
‘Spotti’. A low cushion with bright bluish green, narrow leaves decorated in spring and fall by delightfully fragrant 1½" blossoms, crimson spotted with white, on 6" stems.
‘Tiny Rubies’. Like roysii, above, this is a small hummock or mat with bluish green, needle-like leaves, covered with small, fragrant, short-stemmed blossoms in spring. These are rose colored and fully double.