Dianthus barbatus.

Biennial plant, open pollinated.

Sweet Williams Dianthus are biennial flowers -this means that they will grows their leaves and roots the first year, and send their flowers up on the second year. A little more patience required for this plant, but it is well worth it and will reward you with the loveliest bundles of blooms. It is an assuming, low lying plant, that acts as a perennial as the side shoots grow and bloom the following year. 

Blooms of white, mauve, and red-pinks, with blends. 

From Lynn Coulter's Gardening with Heirloom Seeds:

"Prolific, self-seeding D. barbatus are probably native to the Pyrenees or southern Europe. Everyone in England seems to have grown these biennials at one time, from Henry VIII at Hampton Court to ordinary cottage dwellers who were cultivating double varieties by 1634. In the 1900s, gardening author Louise Beebe Wilder recommended mixing drifts of salmon-colored Sweet Williams with white foxgloves and bunches of white-and-green striped grasses for a show-stopping display.    Sweet Williams have tightly packed flower clusters and long, stiff stems that are good for cutting. The fringed blossoms, with their light, delicate fragrance, remind many gardeners of phlox. Some sources suggest the plants were named to honor William the Conqueror.    These are not fond of hot weather, so give the plants partial shade if you live in the South. Depending on your region, you may see skippers and Painted Lady butterflies visiting th frilly flowers."

40 seeds per pack.