(Bush Penstemon, Shrubby Penstemon)

A low sprawling shrubby perennnial native to the Northwest United States and British Columbia, Penstemon fruticosus is grown for its showy tubular flowers and its handsome evergreen foliage. Offering all of these charms in a compact package, the cultivar 'Purple Haze' bears short spikes of lilac-purple flowers over mats of small glossy oval leaves. The late spring to early summer flowers are irresistible to hummingbirds.

This beautiful perennial requires full to partial sun and acid...

(Large Beardtongue, Shell-leaf Penstemon, Wild Snapdragon)

A short-lived perennial wildflower, the large beardtongue provides ample beauty in both its foliage and flowers. This deep taproot plant is native to the American Great Plains and prairies, from North Dakota to Wyoming, Texas and Illinois. It becomes a narrow, towering specimen in sunny, low-fertility and fast-draining soils. While short-lived, it produces lots of seeds that germinate to perpetuate the wildflower in a location.

The grayish blue-green leaves are thick and leathery and occur in...

(Large Beardtongue, Prairie Snow Beardtongue)

A short-lived perennial wildflower, the Prairie Snow large beardtongue provides ample beauty in both its foliage and flowers. This cultivar was selected by Dale Lindgren. It's native to the American Great Plains and prairies, from North Dakota to Wyoming, Texas and Illinois. It becomes a narrow, towering specimen in sunny, low-fertility and fast-draining soils. While short-lived, it produces lots of seeds that germinate to perpetuate the wildflower in a location.

The grayish-green leaves are...

(Large Beardtongue, War Axe Beardtongue)

A short-lived perennial wildflower, the War Axe Strain of large beardtongue provides ample beauty in both its foliage and deeply colored flowers. This deep taproot plant is native to the American Great Plains and prairies, from North Dakota to Wyoming, Texas and Illinois. However, it may have some genes from another southern Great Plains beardtongue species, which allowed for development of richer flower colors. War Axe beardtongues become narrow, towering specimens in sunny, low-fertility and fast-draining...

(Hartweg's Beardtongue)

This may prove the biggest, boldest species of this entire genus of fabulous perennial flowers. It originates deep in Mexico, in the state of Hidalgo northwest of the capital city. This is high altitude, where plants are found in the pine and oak woodlands. Such locations indicate a preference for acidic soils and greater shade tolerance than the rest of this sun loving clan.

This late summer bloomer produces enormous spires of blooms from three to five feet above the rosette of foliage that...

(Hartweg's Beardtongue)

This comely pink-flowered beauty is a real stand out in both highbrow perennial borders and informal naturalistic plantings. An offspring of a Mexican highlands native whose ample flowers and tall stature figured heavily in the breeding of the large-flowered border penstemons, this seed-grown cultivar bears knee-high spires of rich pink flowers through summer. The bell-shaped blooms are blotched and striped inside with deep magenta, giving them close-up interest. Plants bloom in as little as eight...

(Bunchleaf Penstemon)

This California perennial set the standard for blue among all penstemons. It is native to the coast ranges of California and is also found in the Sierra Nevada Mountain foothills, both locations sharing rainy winters and long dry summers. Plants are often found thriving at the bottom of a south facing cliff, growing in the sand and gravel scree collected there. This indicates a demand for well drained soil and its preferential exposure of sun during the earliest days of spring when plants are most...

(Bunchleaf Penstemon)

Offering some of the garden's brightest blues, this low sprawling perennial is perfect for the front of the border or for nesting around boulders in the rock garden. Bred from a native of the coastal ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills of California, it bears compact spires of iridescent blue tubular flowers that age to purple. They appear spring to fall on shrubby plants furnished with lance-shaped evergreen leaves.

This hummingbird favorite is long-lived in sun to light shade and well-drained,...

(Bunchleaf Penstemon)

Iridescent blue flowers and upright form make this a candidate for highbrow perennial borders as well as naturalistic plantings. Offspring of a native of the coastal ranges and Sierra Nevada foothills of California, this tidy clump-former sends up its bloom stalks from late spring to late summer, and when grown in groups or masses makes a near-neon statement in the garden. Plants die back in winter to a shrubby base furnished with lance-shaped evergreen leaves. This hummingbird favorite is long-lived...

(Toadflax Penstemon)

Few native perennials can boast such variability in habit and color, but no matter what form you get, they’re spectacular in the dry garden. This species is native to the desert southwest, strongly present in high desert communities with much cold winters. Its range extends from the foothills of Arizona and New Mexico into Sonora, Mexico. It is found among the sagebrush, pinyon-juniper plant communities of Colorado as well. In each of these areas the plants are altered in color and size, but remain...