I love these hardy, kaleidoscopic, clove-fragrant flowers. They survive well for me in containers--in the ground, they tend to get crowded out after a season or two.
They are Dianthus, more commonly called pinks--though not from their color (they can be red or white too) but probably from their jagged edges--a look that was popular in fancy clothing during medieval times.
Wikipedia says:
The name Dianthus is from the Greek words Δῖος Dios ("of Zeus") and ἄνθος anthos ("flower"), and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus.[3] The color pink may be named after the flower, coming from the frilled edge of the flowers: the verb "to pink" dates from the 14th century and means "to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern". As is also demonstrated by the name of "pinking shears", special scissors for cloth that create a zigzag or decorative edge that discourages fraying. Alternatively, "pink" may be derived from the Dutch "pinksteren" alluding to the season of flowering . "Pinksteren" means "Pentecost " in Dutch. Thus the colour may be named from the flower rather than the flower from the colour
4 comments:
You have lovely pics and varieties.
Beautiful little flowers. I grew them at our previous home, but they won't grow in our McLean garden.
That's one I've never grown! (There are many!) Love these variegated blossoms!
AC, I doubt it. Most of us who currently read/post blogs may be gone or incapacitated in twenty years.
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