Fringed, soft pink flowers with a fine magenta ring at the center cover this cheddar pink in late spring, rising just above a spreading mat of blue-green leaves. Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Bath's Pink' grows 6 to 12 inches tall and 12 to 16 inches wide in full sun to part sun, hardy from Zone 3 through Zone 9, and fills out in its second season.
The flowers carry a clove scent, and the plant reblooms lightly after its main spring flush. It holds up in heat and humidity better than many pinks, and the single flowers draw bees and butterflies. Cheddar pinks take their name from Cheddar Gorge in England, where the species grows wild on limestone cliffs.
The genus name Dianthus comes from the Greek for divine flower, and many garden pinks carry frilled, saw-toothed petal edges and the spicy clove scent that has kept them in gardens for centuries. The leaves hold their color through much of the winter in milder areas, though hard, open winters brown the tips. Pinks need well-drained soil and air around the crown; heavy, wet soil and mulch piled against the plant cause more losses than cold does, and deer tend to leave them alone.
It fits a sunny slope, the top of a wall or the edge of a walk, and spreads into a low ground cover in lean, well-drained soil.
