September, 1911 



THE GARD E N MAGAZIN E 



57 



remarks that they " can be classified in two 

 categories; firstly, the alpine species, the 

 dwarf, tufted kinds, which spread over the 

 soil and form carpets of flowers; and sec- 

 ondly, those with upright stems and an 

 erect and branching habit." 



To the taller pinks belong all those with 

 clustered flowers described above. The 

 three following grow a foot or more high. 



The fringed pink (D. superbus) is by 

 far the most important of the three, since 

 it is grown almost as commonly as the 

 Scotch. The original form of it has 

 lilac flowers with the petals cut below the 

 middle. It has the same sort of calyx 

 as the Scotch pink, but is a taller plant, 

 branched above, less tufted, and begins to 

 bloom in August, or a month later than 

 the Scotch. It is easily raised from seed 

 and is commonly treated as a biennial in 

 gardens. Robinson says it will live longer 

 in poor, light soil than in rich, moist soil 

 and for permanent planting advises a 

 fibrous loam mixed with sand or grit. 

 This species is native to woods and thickets 

 from the Pyrenees to Norway. I wish some 

 one in America would try to naturalize 

 a colony of it in the woods. It has a 

 fragrant, five-petaled flower about two 

 inches across. 



The wood pink (D. sylvestris) has small, 

 red, odorless flowers, with blue anthers, 

 and petals more or less toothed. There is 

 also a pink variety, daintily spotted with 

 blue. 



D. Seguieri has lately been offered by 

 a firm in Rochester, but the color seems to 

 me objectionable. The flower is of med- 

 ium size, crimson, toothed, and spotted 

 purple at the throat. 



ALPINE OR ROCK GARDEN PINKS 



We now come to the pinks of alpine 

 habit, i. e., the dwarf, tufted kinds growing 

 three to nine inches high. The most 



One of the garden, grass, or Scotch pinks (D. 

 plumarius). The variety is Simplicity, an '■ever- 

 blooming, hardy pink" 



famous examples are the Scotch and Chin- 

 ese pinks, which have been previously de- 

 scribed. Next to these the most desirable 

 for general cultivation are the Cheddar 

 and maiden pinks. 



The Cheddar or cliff pink (D. ccesius) 

 is the famous species which tourists go to 

 see in Somerset, England, where it glorifies 

 the limestone cliffs at Cheddar. It has 

 fragrant, rosy flowers about an inch 

 across with irregularly toothed petals, 

 and blooms in May or early June. The 

 flower varies from rose to white and the 

 foliage from green to bluish. It is some- 

 times used as an edging plant in gardens, 

 but the plant has a wilder, more rustic 

 air than the garden pinks and the most 

 artistic way to use it is to naturalize it on 

 rocks or old walls. You can sow the seeds 

 in a cushion of moss, or mix them with a 

 little earth and place in a chink between 

 steps. The way this plant spreads is a 

 joy. 



The maiden pink (D. deltoid.es) is the 

 most gem-like species that I have men- 

 tioned, the flowers being only half an inch 

 across. They are normally deep red, with 

 a crimson eye, but I like better the rose or 

 white varieties with the bewitching little 

 pink spots, and blue anthers. "It is an 

 exquisite little plant, dainty, prim and 

 polished," said John Thorpe. It is even 

 more turfy than the Cheddar pink, with 

 which it makes a fine contrast, as the 

 Cheddar usually has bluish foliage while 

 that of the maiden pink is a shining 

 green. In Europe it is actually used as a 

 turf and for clothing dry slopes where 

 grass will not grow. I hope some one in 

 America will try this experiment, for it 

 is so easy to work up a good stock. How 

 pretty these little red or pink flowers would 

 look in a dry, gravelly pasture, where they 

 might hold their own for many years! 



We must now make a sharp distinction 

 between the plants of low alpine meadows 

 and those which grow near the tops of 

 high mountains. The two low alpine 

 flowers just mentioned can be grown in 

 any garden, but the following high alpines 

 can be grown only in a rock garden. 



The alpine pink (D. alpinus) grows only 

 three or four inches high, but the flower is 

 relatively large, about an inch across, 

 bright rosy carmine, spotted crimson, 

 and with a dark eye. In foliage and 

 calyx it resembles the maiden pink. 



The glacier pink (D. glacialis) has 

 crimson, odorless flowers, which are over- 

 topped a third by the grassy leaves. This 

 and D. graniticus are exceptional as to soil, 

 Dianthus being a lime-loving genus. The 

 glacier pink requires a peaty soil containing 

 plenty of leaf mold. 



The neglected pink (D. neglectus) is 

 considered by most botanists a mere 

 variety of the glacier pink, but Correvon 

 says it is very different, having glaucous 

 foliage and a crimson flower, which is 

 "greenish below, with bluish shades, thus 

 accounting for the local name, the Blue 

 Pink, by which it is known to the mountain 

 folk of Dauphiny!" Correvon states that 



Chinese pinks, fringed varieties (D. Chinensis, 

 var. laciniatus). This species is often treated as 

 an annual 



it is very easy to grow and has sowed 

 itself spontaneously in all sorts of corners in 

 his garden at Geneva. This sounds very 

 interesting and encouraging, for Geneva 

 has dryer and hotter summers than the 

 Alps. 



A good many alpine pinks have been 

 introduced to America since 1900 and are 

 therefore not described in Bailey's "Cyclo- 

 pedia of American Horticulture." Two 

 of these are the rock and the sand pink. 



The rock pink (D. petrceus) grows only 

 an inch or two high and has fragrant, 

 fringed, rose-colored flowers, which are 

 highly praised by Robinson, who says the 

 plant seems to escape the wire-worms. 



The sand pink (D. arenarius) resembles 

 the Scotch pink in being a wide spreader, 

 with bluish foliage and fragrant flowers, 

 but it grows only three or four inches high 

 and is more deeply fringed. The petals 

 are cut below the middle and each has a 

 faint green mark. This species delights 

 in sand, and it could doubtless be used with 

 charming effect in wall gardening. 



Any one who wishes to collect species 

 of Dianthus should possess "Carnations, 

 Picotees and the Wild and Garden Pinks," 

 edited by E. T. Cook. The latest mono- 

 grapher is F. N. Williams who described 

 all the species in the Journal of the Lin- 

 nsean Society, vol. 29, (i8qi-'93). His 

 "Pinks of Central Europe" I have not seen. 

 Robinson's "English Flower Garden" gives 

 a good account of the high-bred strains, 

 the methods of propagation, etc. 



In conclusion, let me advise the beginner 

 not to try too many kinds the first year. 

 And remember that pinks five longest on 

 banks, walls, or light soil or wherever they 

 have good drainage. For this reason, it 

 has long been customary to grow them in 

 raised beds in gardens. It is an old 

 practice of English gardeners to mingle 

 lime rubbish in the soil when they are 

 growing plants that are native to limestone 

 rocks. 



