Penstemon: "Blackbeard"

A longtime favorite of mine that, similar to aster, love to spread in the garden (a good thing if you plan it right!), is the Penstemon. This "Blackbeard" variety gets extra big and while last year it got attacked by those awful little white mites, I simply cut it back when I noticed that and this year it's back, bigger and prettier than ever in our front garden. Cool huh! I love the deep purple foliage in particular. Also known as Beardtongue, Penstemon is another gorgeous addition to our garden that I copied from what we had on the farm!