SOUTHVIEW NURSERIES
CHEQUERS LANE, EVERSLEY CROSS,
HOOK, HAMPSHIRE RG27 0NT
Tel: 0118 973 2206
Pinks - DIANTHUS
THE FLOWERS OF THE GODS
We have a particular love of these beautiful plants and are now holders of one of the national collections of old pinks. Love of the diversity in the dianthus family has gripped gardeners since at least the 17th century when John Parkinson wrote in his 'Garden of Pleasant Flowers' and described over sixty different garden varieties and species. They are truly part of our national garden heritage.
Naming of some varieties is rather muddled. Our naming follows a meeting of pinks experts in 1993 where many flowers of pinks were brought for comparison and a consensus agreed over certain cultivar names. The assumed date of introduction of some cultivars may be open to question. What is not open to question is the intrinsic beauty of the flowers.
CULTIVATION. Pinks require a sunny position in well drained soil. Avoid planting under overhanging trees or shrubs. Feed with bonemeal in spring and dress the soil with chalk or ground limestone before planting. If your soil is heavy then add good quantities of grit or pea shingle. Growing them on a mound to allow excess water to drain away is also of benefit. Pinks withstand drought exceptionally well, but must be watered well after planting to allow them to establish.
The following are named pinks raised from cuttings and all pot grown in 7 or 9 cm pots. The old varieties flower in June and July giving a mass of scented blooms. The more modern varieties are perpetual flowering i.e. June to the first frosts or longer if protected. Dead heading is the best way to have continual flowering and mixing old and new gives the benefits of scent and long flowering.
| OLD PINKS | |||
| species/name | Description | Price | |
| Dianthus 'Argus'. | An old cultivar. Quite a dwarf habit with single pure white flowers and a bold dark maroon eye. \thought to be a survivor from a group of show pinks called 'Black and White's'. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Allspice'. | A fine old cultivar with mottled, single flowers of purple-red with two spots on each petal. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Betty Morton' | (Betty Norton). Introduced in the 1920s. It has single, deep rose fringed petals with a maroon eye. 25cm. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Bridal Veil' | A lovely old variety. Strongly scented double white flowers with a flecked crimson eye. 17th century. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Brympton Red'. | Introduced by Margery Fish having been found in a workhouse garden. Fragrant single flowers of crimson-scarlet laced and zoned with darker tawny port. Pre 1960. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Doris' | Salmon pink with a carmine rose ring. Free flowering. AGM |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Fair Folly' | A delightful plant with single pale pink petals each of which has 2 strawberry pink marks and a central strawberry eye. Believed to have originated in the 17th century, but there is no proof of this, which doesn't matter a jot as it is very pleasing to one's own eyes. 30cm. |  | £4.00 |
| Dianthus 'Joy' | Beautiful large carmine-pink double flowers on 25cm stems. An Allwood introduction pre-1965. AGM. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Inchmery'. | A superb pink thought to date from the 18th century but may be 17thC as it looks very similar to a woodcut of a pink called 'Master Tuggie His rose gilloflower' in John Parkinson's 1629 book 'Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris'. Double, strongly clove scented flowers of shell pink up to 20cm. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Lady Granville' | Beautiful slightly fringed petals, white semi double laced crimson. Strong scent. 1840. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Lady Madonna'. | A really stunning new cultivar and wonderfully clove scented. Neat plants with double white fringed flowers and a central eye of ruby-red. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'London Lovely'. | Raised by Mr F.R.McQuown. One of his great family of 'London Pinks'. Semi double flowers laced dark maroon on a white ground. Scented. 1944. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Madonna' | Similar to 'Bridal Veil' with pure white fringed petals and a darker crimson mark at each petal base. 25-30cm. | £3.50 | |
| Dianthus 'Mrs Sinkins' | Classic double white richly fragrant flowers. The absolute quintessence of the cottage path edging. Introduced by Turner's nursery of Slough in 1868. There are a number of different forms of this beautiful pink in commerce. Ours is the same as the one in the RHS trial ground at Wisley. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Murray Douglas' | From a garden in Farnborough. Large double flowers with recurved petals of pink shades deep rose. Strong clove scent. |  | £4.00 |
| Dianthus 'Night Star' | Tussock forming with short 10-15cm stems adorned with rich single cherry-red petals laced with delicious pale pink. AGM. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Old Square Eyes' | Found around 1980 as a chance seedling by plantswoman Nancy Mary Goodall in her garden at Newbury this lovely, robust pink has large 4-5cm single flowers of white and an unusual large pink eye which looks (almost) square. It reaches 40cm and is worth a little twiggy support. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Paisley Gem' | We acquired this plant from the first national collection holder, Sue Farquhar who obtained her plant from the Rev Oscar Moreton. It was raised in 1798 by John Mcree, a Paisley muslin worker and Moreton got the plant from Mcree's great grandson. It had been grown in the same garden since it was raised. John Mcree was so pleased with the plant that he presented one to King George III. It is very like 'Dad's Favourite' but has larger flowers. The double white petals have an almost black-maroon eye and good lacing of the same colour. |  | £4.50 |
| Dianthus 'Queen of Sheba' | Pretty small single flowers with an ivory white ground laced and flaked magenta. A 'Painted Lady' type. 17th C. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus 'Sam Barlow' | Named after a keen gardener of the 1860s it is thought to be of late 19thC. introduction. Large double, fringed very fragrant white flowers have a rich dark purple-chocolate eye. 20-25cm. |  | £4.00 |
| Dianthus 'Sweetheart Abbey' | Double crimson flowers shading to lilac at the fringed white petals' edge. Named after the abbey in south west Scotland. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus 'Unique'. | An old cultivar with rich single flowers coloured like summer pudding with raspberry splashes and dark blackcurrant flashes.Scented. Sumptuous. | £3.00 | |
| SPECIES PINKS | |||
| Many of our favourite old named pinks developed by the natural crossing of various pinks plants in gardens, in earlier times many wild species from Europe were grown in gardens along with the more flamboyant varieties, we thought you might be interested in some which we find exciting and a pleasure to grow. Who knows you may even get a cross of your own. | |||
| Dianthus amurensis | A lovely species from East Asia 35cm branched stems display inch wide single flowers of rose-purple almost bluish with pretty deep purple central markings in Summer. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus barbatus nigrescens | The Sweet William has been in our gardens since the 16th Century. This form has rich deep purple-black flowers on 30cm stems. | £3.00 | |
| Dianthus carthusianorum | Sweet Johns. A tall seed raised species with dark green foliage and flower stems up to 90cms topped by clusters of purple flowers. Said to have been introduced by the Carthusian monks in medieval times. |  | £3.00 |
| Dianthus deltoides 'Alba' | Our native 'Maiden Pink' with creeping broad leaved stems and white flowers. Lovely ground cover. 8cms. | £2.50 | |
| Dianthus deltoides 'Luneburg Heath Maiden Pink' | From wild collected seed. Dense foliage cushions and good dark rosy-red flowers, 20cm. The heath where on 4th May 1945 the German Army surrendered. | £2.50 | |
| Dianthus deltoides 'Nelli' | Dark green leaves and flowers of rich red with a darker eye.8cms Good ground cover. | £2.50 | |