There
were a variety of 'pinks' for the Victorian gardener
to choose - the Cheddar pink, the wild clove (the 'castle
pink' of poetry), the pheasant's-eye pink and the Deptford
pink. They were a somewhat old-fashioned flower, but
they flowered more readily than did the 'show' pinks.
Show pinks were richly and regularly marked with broad
bands of colour on each petal, but border pinks were
irregularly marked or of one colour only.
Both
show and border pinks had a lovely spicy fragrance.
The
best way for a gardener to guarantee a good crop of
pinks in his garden was to sow the seed in sandy loam
in April and raise the young stock in frames.
They did not need much water, but did need air and light.
When large enough to handle, they should be planted
out in a border of fine soil in a sunny position at
about three inches apart. Then, once grown on further
and starting to crowd one another, they needed to be
replanted into their desired position (generally this
was done in September).
