Sweet William Single and Double - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Sweet Williams, members of the Dianthus family, specifically Dianthus Barbatus, have been cultivated for at least 1000 years. It was the Athenians that named the flower Dianthos, from the Greek words dios (devine) and anthos (flower), but the common name, Sweet William, has a much more confusing past. Most plant historians believe that the plant is named after William the Conqueror, the conqueror of Normandy, because the plants were said to grow, "aplenty in the hills of Normandy". Some, however, feel that the plant was named in honor of William of Aquitaine - the Saint, and still other believe that the name was a tribute to William Shakespeare who seemed to have a high
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