I love the old fashioned, cottage garden plant commonly called Sweet William. Diantus barbatus is easy to grow from seed and although in some places it’s called a perennial, you’re better off thinking of this as a biennial. This plant grows one year, blooms the next and sometimes comes back…usually it self-seeds. Don’t bother with the dwarf variety – it’s wimpy. Grow the real thing and you’ll have flowers from late-May into July, good stems for cutting and sweet, spicy fragrance.
Grow this Dianthus in the perennial garden or cutting garden.
