The
Dianthus are starting to bloom, their cheerful flowers spreading that unmistakable clove scent across the garden. I became a bit obscessed with dianthus last year, after beeing inspired by the dianthus garden in the book Venzano: a scented garden in Tuscany. I had to have some. So I bought a half dozen varieties.
'Bath's Pink' (above) was the first to begin opening. I am of mixed feelings regarding 'Bath's Pink'. The delicate flowers are beautiful, and the plants vigorous, but my plant has put so much energy into flower production that the basal leaves have turned dramatically brown. And although there are a multitude of flowers, the form of the plant is floppy. Still, I have seen other plants in other gardens with much nicer performance. Maybe mine is not in the right spot.
Species
D. hispanicus began blooming next (above, and top). I have grown very fond of
D. hispanicus, which is extremely drought tolerant, and has a great plant form as you can see in the top photo, being perfectly symmetrical mounds of silvery foliage. The stems are too short for long cutting stems, but certainly adequate for a posy, and are short enough that the plant retains form while in bloom. The flowers are intensely scented, which of course is one of the biggest attractions in my book.
'Firewitch' has a compact form to recommend it, and nice blue-grey foliage. It was next to begin blooming. The flowers are a brilliant magenta, which makes it stand out in the garden like a lazer beacon. This may or may not be a good thing. My plant has just started blooming, but it has not put out as many flower stems as 'Bath's Pink'. Maybe next year.
This is the first flower on 'Queen of Sheba'. Not only is it an exquisite flower in close-up detail, but the plants have a graceful vase-shape in form. Leaves are a bit more coarse than the more compact forms of dianthus, but certainly not unattractive.
'Tiny Rubies' is the last to begin flowering so far (still waiting for a couple more). The flowers are indeed tiny jewels perhaps a half inch across. There are not a large number of gems in the jewel box, but they are charming.
The Dianthus are starting to bloom, their cheerful flowers spreading that unmistakable clove scent across the garden. I became a bit obscessed with dianthus last year, after beeing inspired by the dianthus garden in the book Venzano: a scented garden in Tuscany. I had to have some. So I bought a half dozen varieties.
'Bath's Pink' (above) was the first to begin opening. I am of mixed feelings regarding 'Bath's Pink'. The delicate flowers are beautiful, and the plants vigorous, but my plant has put so much energy into flower production that the basal leaves have turned dramatically brown. And although there are a multitude of flowers, the form of the plant is floppy. Still, I have seen other plants in other gardens with much nicer performance. Maybe mine is not in the right spot.
Species D. hispanicus began blooming next (above, and top). I have grown very fond of D. hispanicus, which is extremely drought tolerant, and has a great plant form as you can see in the top photo, being perfectly symmetrical mounds of silvery foliage. The stems are too short for long cutting stems, but certainly adequate for a posy, and are short enough that the plant retains form while in bloom. The flowers are intensely scented, which of course is one of the biggest attractions in my book.
'Firewitch' has a compact form to recommend it, and nice blue-grey foliage. It was next to begin blooming. The flowers are a brilliant magenta, which makes it stand out in the garden like a lazer beacon. This may or may not be a good thing. My plant has just started blooming, but it has not put out as many flower stems as 'Bath's Pink'. Maybe next year.
This is the first flower on 'Queen of Sheba'. Not only is it an exquisite flower in close-up detail, but the plants have a graceful vase-shape in form. Leaves are a bit more coarse than the more compact forms of dianthus, but certainly not unattractive.
'Tiny Rubies' is the last to begin flowering so far (still waiting for a couple more). The flowers are indeed tiny jewels perhaps a half inch across. There are not a large number of gems in the jewel box, but they are charming.
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