Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Deptford Pink
I found this delicate wildflower standing erect along a fence row on my property.
It has sharp, spiky leaves like its cousins, Sweet William and Carnation.
An immigrant from Great Britain, named after the city, now London's East End, in which it was believed to have originated, this distinctive lily pokes its head up through taller grasses and weeds in early summer.
Some botanists proscribe Dianthus armeria as an invasive alien.
In the Shenandoah Valley, however, in every instance with which I am familiar, it has established itself without crowding out native flora.
This is perhaps because its favored habitat is, as in the case above, an overgrown fence row where the grass is so tall that there is little competition from other wildflowers.
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