Penstemon mensarum - Beardtongue

The Penstemon mensarum is a magnificent botanical species native to the mountains of Colorado. Relatively hardy and tolerant of poor and dry soils, this perennial beauty offers a long flowering of dazzling gentian blue for weeks in late spring and summer. Its beautiful spikes, loaded with tubular flowers, rise above a clump of large, evergreen leaves, shining green. When conditions are right, in light soil, this penstemon is very perennial and accompanies the gardener for many years. It is also an excellent cut flower, perfect in sunny borders or planted in pots.

The Penstemon mensarum is a woody-based perennial plant native to mountain slopes in western Colorado. It belongs to the family Scrophulariaceae, just like foxgloves and snapdragons. The plant quickly forms a beautiful clump of leafy stems that are wide and 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12in) tall and 30 cm (12in). The stems bear long, lanceolate leaves, relatively light green and shiny. They often remain evergreen through winter. Flowering occurs from May-June to August and can be earlier in mild climates and interrupted in case of summer drought. The leafy stems elongate and turn reddish, each bearing at the top, 50 cm (20in) above the ground, a spike adorned with intensely blue flowers with a darker throat. The bell-shaped flowers are gathered in somewhat loose clusters.

The Penstemon mensarum is used in borders or along the edge, among perennials such as toadflaxes, Bluebeards, yellow yarrows like 'Moonshine', and red bushy salvias,  or mixed with annuals such as love-in-a-mist and cosmos for example, in large, intensely multicoloured country-style ensembles. It will mingle among rocks in rockeries (not too chalky soil) with cotton lavenders, rockroses, or wormwoods. It also performs very well in pots, with proper drainage and regular fertilizer. Penstemons also make perfect cut flowers.