Everlast Red Flash is a dianthus with low mounds of blue-grey foliage topped in late spring by fringed, clove-scented red flowers, with repeat flushes if you shear it back. Its grey foliage keeps the look tidy long after the bloom has passed.

Site it in full sun in lean, well-drained soil, because rich wet ground is what rots these pinks here, not our heat. Use it at the front of a border or let it spill over a wall where the drainage is naturally sharp.