Dianthus cv. - Single Laced Pinks
Scientific Name: Dianthus cv.
Common Name: Single Laced Pinks
Description: Hardy, evergreen, late spring-flowering perennial; copious quantities of fragrant, single white flowers blotched and streaked with crimson
Size: Attractive blue-green foliage grows to 12 inches high and spreads up to 20 inches across
Cultural Information: Prefers moderately rich, sweet, well-drained soil and full sun; apply side-dressing of lime annually
USDA Zones: 5 through 9
Historical Notes: Laced pinks are particularly noted for their blotched and laced bi-colored flowers, and were very popular during the late 1700s.[1] Pinks were a favorite of 18th-century English florists, who developed many forms that soon became available in Europe and America. Today, we think of the word "pink" as a color, but the term "pinks" in the 18th century referred to the notched or pinked edges of the petals.
Although Thomas Jefferson did not record this variety, he noted china pinks (Dianthus chinensis), carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus), and sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) in Monticello's oval flower beds in 1807.[2]
- Peggy Cornett, n.d.
Further Sources
- Cornett, Peggy. "Pinks, Gilliflowers, & Carnations—The Exalted Flowers." Twinleaf, January 1998.
- Look for more of Jefferson's references in his garden book. Manuscript and transcription available online at Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts, Massachusetts Historical Society.
- Stuart, David and James Sutherland. Plants from the Past: Old Flowers for New Gardens. London: Penguin Books, 1989.
- Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants.
References
- ^ See Joan Parry Dutton, Plants of Colonial Williamsburg (Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg, 1979), 129.
- ^ See Edwin M. Betts, Hazlehurst Bolton Perkins, and Peter J. Hatch, Thomas Jefferson's Flower Garden at Monticello 3rd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1986), 59.