Penstemon barbatus Iron Maiden

Elegant and lightweight, the Penstemon barbatus 'Iron Maiden', also known as Beard-tongue, hides a robust health beneath its airy flowering, so welcome at the end of summer. While summer blooms fade away, its tall stems emerge from the flowerbeds, adorned with delicate bell-shaped flowers in a soft pinkish-red, gentle on the eyes. Its tall spikes rise above a clump of very fine, semi-evergreen, green-blue foliage for three months. It creates a superb tableau with grasses in a flowerbed or a wild bouquet. This very hardy perennial is resistant to drought, loves relatively fertile soils and adores the sun.

Ole Penstemon barbatus is a short-lived bushy herbaceous perennial belonging to the family Scrophulariaceae, native to the mountains of the western United States, up to 4000 meters (13123 feet) altitude, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas. The 'Iron Maiden' variety, from which it originates, has retained many of the characteristics of this very resistant plant. It forms a semi-evergreen basal clump consisting of fine, linear, green-blue foliage, from which floral stems up to 1 metre (3 feet) tall emerge in the second half of summer. The tubular bell-shaped flowers, 4 to 5 cm (2in) long, are individually distributed along the stem. They display a bright, soft, vibrant hue, intermediate between red and pink. A multitude of seeds is dispersed after flowering. This plant has a deep root system, which sometimes makes transplantation difficult but allows it to find some coolness at depth.

The Penstemon barbatus is rarely used in gardens. This is probably because it sometimes struggles to establish when planted in spring. It should be planted in well-drained flowerbeds in autumn in the company of shrubby salvias, toadflaxes, and grasses such as Stipa tenuifolia or Muhlenbergia capillaris. It will then have time to sink its roots deep and survive the summer without damage. The 'Iron Maiden' Beard-tongue is a very cheerful plant with a wild charm that will keep company with annual poppies, small blue stars of asters, and damask flowers. It is also a lovely flower for bouquets.