I love these hardy, kaleidoscopic, clove-fragrant flowers. They survive well for me in containers--in the ground, they tend to get crowded out after a season or two.
They are Dianthus, more commonly called pinks--though not from their color (they can be red or white too) but probably from their jagged edges--a look that was popular in fancy clothing during medieval times.
There seem to be countless varieties in various combinations of colors and jaggedness. They are sometimes called gilly flowers or sops in wine. One might become obsessed . . .
Wikipedia says:
The name Dianthus is from the Greek words Δῖος Dios ("of Zeus") and ἄνθος anthos ("flower"), and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus.[3] The color pink may be named after the flower, coming from the frilled edge of the flowers: the verb "to pink" dates from the 14th century and means "to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern". As is also demonstrated by the name of "pinking shears", special scissors for cloth that create a zigzag or decorative edge that discourages fraying. Alternatively, "pink" may be derived from the Dutch "pinksteren" alluding to the season of flowering . "Pinksteren" means "Pentecost " in Dutch. Thus the color may be named from the flower rather than the flower from the colour
