In 1382, Chaucer informed us that every London tavern had pinkes in their gardens, using the petals to flavour wine and beer with their clove scent.
And it is this scent that has passed down to us, albeit with current nursery practices, the choices of these plants are very limited, even within the past 30 years, many are lost.
When we pick up the scent from them, we are connecting with past generations. Some of whom are our families. Certainly, the 20thC varieties would have been in a great many gardens within living memory.
Dianthus Inchmery 1800
Dianthus Doris 1944
