Pinks and carnations are having a comeback: here's how to grow them

Delicate, clove-scented pinks and their larger cousins, carnations, have one of the most richly illustrated histories of all plants, stretching back as far as the Middle Ages when they first arrived in Britain from the Continent. From the fifteenth century onwards, they have been painted repeatedly, and can still be seen in works of art from this period, from exquisite books of hours, where red carnations symbolised Christ's resurrection, to some of the most iconic Renaissance works of art. Botticelli's painting Primavera (c. 1482), which can be seen today in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, depicts the serene figure of Flora, goddess of flowers, dressed in a white gown decorated with cornflowers and dianthus. Dianthus blooms were also depicted in tapestry and needlework, and can be seen in all the great Flemish or French wall hangings of the time in their elaborate millefleurs backgrounds.  

Although both the garden pink ( derived from Dianthus plumarius) and the carnation (from D. caryophyllus) were grown from medieval times, it was the carnation, or the gillyflower as it was known, that attracted the most attention initially because of the natural hybrids it produced. Striped, bi-coloured and double flowers appealed to the Elizabethan fascination with all things bizarre, and, along with the tulip, the carnation became one of the first flowers adopted by the elite florists' societies of the seventeenth century. Around this time, the dianthus flower burgeoned in another form of art: embroidery. As is evident in so many Elizabethan and Jacobean portraits, clothing was lavishly embellished with embroidered flowers, and the carnation appeared repeatedly as a stylised motif, often edged with silver or gold thread.  

Associated with wealth, the carnation was fast becoming the flower of the aristocracy. Fashionable among the nobility, new varieties were named after royalty, including Charles II and his consort, Catherine of Braganza, whose bed was hung with satin curtains embroidered with entwined scarlet carna­tions to symbolise their marriage. The passion for the carnation resulted in many new varieties; by the end of the seventeenth century more than 350 could be named, the likes of which were immortalised in almost every still life of flowers painted by the Dutch masters. In the eighteenth century, botanical painters such as Ehret, Redoute and Bauer made detailed studies of the flowers, giving us a clear idea of what was fashionable at the time.  

The nineteenth century saw the arrival of the large, blowsy Malmaison carnations, and the first repeat-flowering carnations, ancestors of our present-day, perpetual-flowering varieties. Early in the twentieth century, a new type of scentless, large-bloomed carnation was developed in the States, and adopted internationally by the cut-flower trade. This gaudy flower that can be bought in cheap bunches has given the carnation a bad image, and may be one of the reasons why it isn't more widely grown these days. 

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How to grow flowers

Garden pinks

Pinks, the smaller, hardier relatives of the carna­tion, are more popular as garden plants, and, unlike most carnations, which must be grown under glass, are easy to grow outside in the British climate. They also flower earlier, in May and June. Although pinks were well known and loved from the Middle Ages, they seem to have been dis­missed by some as a more 'common' flower than the carnation, and for many years only a handful of improved forms appeared. It wasn't until the eighteenth century that they were accepted into the inner circle of the florists' societies, and only then because of the appearance of chance seed­lings showing decorative edging in contrasting colours. Plantsmen seized on this characteristic, and before long, new varieties of what became known as 'laced' pinks were appearing.  

One area particularly noted as a melting pot for new varieties of laced pinks was Paisley, near Glasgow, where local weavers formed a large and thriving florists' society. Today, the term 'Paisley pink' is still used to describe a particular shade of pink, which brings us to the question of why pinks are called pinks, when they range in colour from white to red. Interestingly, the modern use of the word as a colour only came into general circula­tion in the middle of the nineteenth century, while the first written description of the flower as a 'pinke' was in 1573; one can assume that the flower name came first, and that the colour was named after the flower. Originally, the definition of the colour embraced a wider spectrum than today, including red. There are various potential derivatives of the original flower name, the most likely being from the Middle English word 'pie' or 'pikke', meaning to pierce, which in turn led to the verb 'to pink' - as in pinking sheers - and relating to the deeply serrated or ragged petal edges of the wild Dianthus plumarius. 

Cultivars and cultivation

The Paisley pink cultivars, like so many other old pinks, have long since disappeared, although some modern varieties such as D. 'Paisley Gem' and D. 'Murray's Laced Pink' may be close relatives. One of the most tenacious of the old pinks is D. 'Mrs Sinkins', which dates back to 1868. Named for the wife of the man who first raised it, 'Mrs Sinkins' is a blowsy white double with a sweet clove scent-a true old-fashioned cottage-garden plant. There are many modern cultivars to try, ranging in colour from white to claret, some with rounded flowers, others with fringed petals. Modern versions of the old-fashioned laced or bi-coloured pinks are also available, including the lovely D. 'Laced Monarch'. In addition to these, some of the pure species are equally garden-worthy, especially D. carthusianorum, with its small, intensely pink flow­ers. Most pinks grow between 20 and 30cm tall, the flowers spiking up from a hummock of silvery foliage; miniature pinks are also available, grow­ing 10 to 15cm tall. Pinks are traditionally grown as a scented border edging, but they can also be grown in pots, troughs or window boxes. They will thrive in an open, sunny position, and prefer an alkaline, well-drained soil. Heavy soils should be improved with grit and compost. Depending on variety, the plants will flower from May or June, and should be cut back after flowering to encour­age bushy growth. Pinks are perennials, but they tend to be short-lived. They can easily be replaced by taking cuttings during the summer months.