Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix': you've come a long way

Compare this photo to the one I took at the end of March!

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, June 2009

It's time for another Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens.

I'm still feeling like not enough is in bloom yet. I was pleasantly surprised when I counted how many different kinds of blooms there actually are. Paeonia lactiflora has just started blooming in the front garden.

A recent acquisition for the front garden: Impatiens walleriana 'Accent Lavender Blue'.

The Primula hybrida that my landlord got as a potted plant early in the spring has started forgiving me for transplanting it for the garden. I wasn't expecting any more blooms until next year.

Last year's Allium roseum came back. I'm not sure what the pink buds in the background are. It looks like a snapdragon but if so I don't know where it could have come from.

The bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) is on its way out, alas.

This year my landlord chose a rainbow of Calibrachoa for the front urn.

I love pink(ish) pansies. This one is Viola x wittrockiana 'Delta Pure Rose'.

My landlord gets bright pink petunias every year. This year they share their basket with white verbena.

My landlord's son chose these pretty light pink petunias for the half barrel planter.

The light pink petunias share their planter with this pretty lavender variety... ('Saguna Lavender Vein')

...and these white petunias ('Famous New White'). I must remember to check if they're fragrant.

The marigolds I started from seed are thriving! (Tagetes tenuifolia 'Lulu'.)

I've been meaning to acquire this pretty native, Anemone canadensis, for a while. What a delight to find it volunteering in the garden!

The annual dianthus I started from seed has just started blooming. (Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix'.)

My son wanted this snapdragon because he loves making the flowers open their "mouths". (Antirrhinum majus 'Montego Scarlet'.)

The aquilegia is winding down. I'm looking forward to lots of seeds.

Another native volunteer just started blooming today! (Erigeron annuus).

I sowed a whole packet of phacelia seeds but I seem to have only one plant, which also bloomed for the first time today. (Phacelia parryi 'Royal Admiral'.)

I really lucked out with the volunteer violas this year; I love the colours.

This is the first time I've ever grown mignonette, a plant I had never seen in real life but which is supposed to be deliciously fragrant. It has started blooming, and I cannot smell it at all, nor can anyone else I've asked. Maybe it will acquire a scent when it's more mature? (Reseda odorata 'Mignon Finest Mix'.)

Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix'

My first annual dianthus bloom! I love the intricate markings.

Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix': foliage

The China pinks were doing well, but apparently they are quite palatable to cats! This is the healthiest seedling, probably because it was right under the lights and the cats couldn't get at it. I've started hardening them off; hopefully once they are outside and have less cats nibbling on them they'll all bounce back.

Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix' seedling

Here's one of my pink seedlings at two weeks from sowing. They all have a set of true leaves and look quite healthy.

Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix': sprouts

Dianthus chinensis, known in English as "Chinese pink" or "rainbow pink" and in French as œillet de Chine, is native to east Asia. The flowers are in various shades of pink or white, often bicoloured, with zigzag edges as if cut by pinking shears.

Here are my dianthus seedlings, only a week after sowing!

Dianthus chinensis 'Double Gaiety Mix': seeds

Dianthus chinensis, known in English as "Chinese pink" or "rainbow pink" and in French as œillet de Chine, is native to east Asia. The flowers are in various shades of pink or white, often bicoloured, with zigzag edges as if cut by pinking shears.

This is my first year growing pinks. I started them from seed on March 17 (inside, under lights) and yesterday I saw a pink had already sprouted!