Never mind the garage forecourt – carnations deserve a place in your garden

Easy to grow, hardy and charming, these once-maligned flowers are having a much-deserved comeback You might not know the term Caryophyllaceae but I guarantee you’d be able to spot a carnation, which is part of this family. Garage forecourt carnations have been having a semi-ironic fashion moment as a cut flower for a while now, but I’m yet to see them making a garden comeback. I’d always dismissed the whole family as fusty, old-fashioned bedding plants for fussy little gardens. But it turns o...

By Alice Vincent