Dianthus Memories & Small Perennials

[Blagan]

Apologies if this is in the wrong section, extreme garden noob here.

I've been reading reviews online and one plant that keeps popping up is the Dianthus Memories plant.

I really like the look of the Memories plant but I'm struggling to find anyone that sells them, I don't really want to order online as you never know what you're getting.
Does anyone know any retailers that sell Memories plants? Been into my local B&Q, B&M and Garden Centre but no joy yet.

I'm also looking for some perennial plants that look like Pansies or Violas, Up jump Violas are my favorite but they seem to die off so quickly.
Does a perennial equivalent exist at all?

Thanks guys!

P.S I'm UK Based, South Yorkshire.

[rainbowgardener]

Wow, sounds like a nice one. Apparently it was developed in UK and more common there. I looked it up:

"Dianthus ‘Memories’ is a compact highly fragrant dianthus from renowned UK specialists Whetman Pinks. ‘Memories’ will flower over an extended period from spring to late summer. Masses of double white highly fragrant flowers smother the plant for a prolonged period from spring to summer" https://www.livingfashion.co.nz/variety/ ... -memories/

AND it is called Memories, because $1 from the purchase of each plant goes to support Alzheimer's/ dementia research.
https://fightdementia.org.au/national/d ... a-research

It is also said to be deer resistant, attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds, doesn't need staking because compact, drought tolerant. No wonder you want some!

I buy lots of plants on-line and have not had problems with it. However, your Memories dianthus is apparently a new development. I looked at a number of UK based mail order plant sellers and none of them carried it. A couple of them carried Mrs. Siskins which is the older variety that Memories was developed from. You could try that. If you really want the 'Memories' the only thing I can think of is contact Whetman Pinks. https://www.whetmanpinks.com/

How did you even find out about this apparently new and rare plant?

Best Wishes!

[Blagan]

Hi, thank you for the response!

I was googling something like "top 10 all year round plants" or something a long those lines and it appeared on nearly everyones list.
I'm sure I read somewhere that it won Plant of the year or something too.

I guess I'll have to order some online, UK can order from here https://www.nemesia.co.uk/dianthus-memor ... 1043-p.asp
Not sure if they ship abroad though.

EDIT
Just seen they're now out of stock, oh dear.

[rainbowgardener]

that's not surprising. Mid summer is entirely the wrong time to be planting things. You can check if they will have any new stock in for fall planting or you can just be patient until next spring.

[Blagan]

They actually had them in stock on the wetpinks website so those are sorted hopefully.

Any suggestions on Perrenials similar to violas or pansies? Does such a thing exist?