Field note:
Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) petals are finely serrated—“pinked,” the edge that gave the color its name. The verb to pink once meant to notch or pierce; tailors use pinking shears to cut a zigzag that resists fraying. Many Dianthus share this scalloped margin and were called “pinks”; the soft color word “pink” came later from the flowers, not the other way around. They carry a clove‑warm scent (eugenol) that lingers, and they endure in a buttonhole longer than most blooms. A sturdy calyx cups the petals; the flower’s design is persistence and perfume—memory you can smell. Long stems and repeated flowering make it a familiar companion in small celebrations and old photographs.

Invitation:
Read the lines, then look closely at a carnation’s edge. Feel the tiny cuts along the rim and catch the spice on your breath. Ask what you carry from “the cottage and the garden,” and which part—scent, shape, the keeping—deserves to stay on your lapel a little longer.