532 



DIANTHUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



DIANTHUS. 



as the plants begin to grow, the bed 

 should be mulched about I in. deep with 

 equal quantities of well-rotted horse 

 manure and leaf-mould. The plants will 

 then fast push on their new growth. 



INCREASING STOCK. If the plants 

 have made good growth in July, cut the 

 strongest shoots with a sharp knife, cut 

 off the ends of the grass, and cut the 

 shoot two or three joints below the grass 

 or leaves. Prepare some ground as 

 follows : Scatter a little salt on the surface, 

 then riddle on 2 in. deep of fresh soil, 

 prick in the pipings, and put a light or 

 hand-glass over them ; and they will be 

 rooted in a few weeks. 



Where seed is wanted, protect the 

 flowers from wet, and as they decay re- 

 move the withered petals, which en- 

 courage damp and form a harbour for 

 insects. Seed should be saved only from 

 the finest and most constant varieties of 

 vigorous and hardy growth, and may be 

 sown early in June in pots, or in the open 

 ground. 



GARDEN OR BORDER PINKS. The 

 show Pinks may be left to the exhibitor. 

 There are certain kinds both old and new 

 which must be taken care of by the 

 " general lover " of flowers. These are 

 the hardier border kinds, grown for their 

 beauty and fragrance. As in the case of 

 the hardier Carnations, we must en- 

 courage these. Some of the best of the 

 hardier kinds are Anne Boleyn, Ascot 

 (soft pink), Fimbriatus major, Fragrans 

 (pure), George White, Hercules, Lady 

 Blanche, Mrs. Moore, Mrs. Pettifer, Mrs. 

 Sinkins (Mule Pink), Marie Pare (Mule 

 Pink), Napoleon III., Multiflorus, New- 

 market, Pluto, Purity, Robustus, Rubens, 

 Thalia, White Queen, Wm. Bruce, High 

 Clere, Multiflorus flore-pleno, Multiflorus 

 roseus, Striatiflorus, Speciosus fl.-pl., Coc- 

 cineus, Early Blush, Fimbriatus albus (old 

 white), Lord Lyons, Miss Joliffe, Nellie, 

 White Perpetual, the Clove Pink, Her 

 Majesty. 



DWARF SINGLE AND DOUBLE PINKS. 

 Messrs. Dicksons, of Edinburgh, have 

 raised some dwarf profuse - blooming 

 Pinks so compact in habit and stiff in 

 stem that they do without stakes. Most 

 Pinks are better without stakes, especially 

 when their foliage is healthy, and is in 

 such wide tufts as to shield the flowers 

 from splashed earth ; but these new 

 dwarf sorts may be compact enough for 

 the rock-garden. Mr. J. Grieve, who 

 raised them, says : " Both the single and 

 the dwarf double varieties will prove quite 

 a boon to the flower-gardener and for 

 bouquets. To the ordinary eye all florists' 



Pinks consist of but one variety ; whereas 

 amongst the single and dwarf sorts there 

 are endless colours, and many of the 

 flowers are so varied in colour as to 

 render them easily mistaken for other 

 plants. Numbers of the single sorts look 

 like miniature Petunias." Carnea Beauty, 

 Delicata, Rosea, Spicata, and Odorata 

 are among the best of these new dwarf 

 Pinks, and the class will no doubt be 

 added to. 



D. sinensis (Chinese Pink}. This has 

 given rise to a race of beautiful garden 

 flowers. It is an annual, or biennial, ac- 

 cording to the way it is sown and grown. 

 If sown early, the plants will flower the 

 first year ; if late, the second. On dry 

 soils, and if the winters be mild, they will 

 live for two or three years. The varieties, 

 both single and double, are now very 

 numerous and beautiful, and may be 

 classed under D. Heddewigi and D. 

 laciniatus. The forms of Heddewigi, the 

 Japanese variety, are dwarf and handsome, 

 while there are double-flowered forms, 

 particularly diadematus, the flowers of 

 which are large and very double. The 

 petals of the laciniated section are very 

 deeply cut into a fine fringe. Of this 

 class there are also double-flowered forms. 

 The colours of both are much varied, and 

 there are striped crimson and white sorts. 

 There is a pretty dwarf class (nanus), 

 about 6 in. high, but it is less useful 

 than the taller varieties for cutting from. 

 Two beautiful and distinct selected sorts, 

 Crimson Belle and Eastern Queen, are 

 among the best varieties. Sow D. 

 sinensis under glass in February, with 

 very little or no bottom-heat ; give air 

 freely during open weather, and in April 

 plant out in well-cultivated soil, which 

 need not be rich. Place the plants 9 in. 

 to 1 2 in. apart each way, and they will form 

 compact tufts. Encourage the laterals by 

 pinching off decayed flowers, and the 

 result will be a mass of blossom through- 

 out the summer, and probably till 

 November. Some sow in autumn, and 

 winter the young plants in frames or under 

 hand-glasses, hardening them off by 

 degrees in spring, until they have become 

 fully established. These Pinks are ad- 

 mirable for the flower garden, either in 

 beds by themselves, or mixed ; they may 

 be well used with taller plants of a 

 different character dotted sparsely among 

 them. 



D. superbus (Fringe dPink\ A fragrant 

 wild pink, easily known by its petals 

 being cut into strips for more than half 

 their length. It inhabits many parts of 

 Europe from Norway to the Pyrenees, and 



