Penstemon hybrida Gloire de Quatre Rue - Beardtongue

The 'Gloire de Quatre Rue' hybrid Penstemon displays a brilliant flowering, exceptionally bright under the sun. Its large violet-purple campanulate flowers are open on a deep white throat that captures the light, illuminating the garden from June to October. They are borne by a very bushy plant with semi-evergreen foliage that sometimes bends under their weight. This exceptional perennial is undoubtedly not the hardiest, but it tolerates occasional periods of drought well and can adapt to ordinary soil. It is also an excellent cut flower, perfect in sunny flower beds or large containers.

The 'Gloire de Quatre Rue' hybrid Penstemon is a recent Angevin creation. It is a bushy and woody perennial plant belonging to the scrophulariaceae family, just like foxgloves and snapdragons. Like many hybrid penstemons, it results from cross-breeding several species, most of which originate from Central and North America. This variety forms beautiful dense clumps of 60 cm (24in) in all directions, with branched stems covered in delicate, lanceolate dark green foliage. Its growth is relatively rapid. The flowering extends from June to October, developing at the terminal part of leafy stems. The bicoloured flowers, in the shape of large bell-shaped campanulas, are gathered in somewhat loose clusters. They display a speckled white colour, reminiscent of frost, widely bordered with a very powerful violet-purple. The outer edge of the corolla is discreetly lined with dark violet.

The 'Gloire de Quatre Rue' penstemon can be used in flower beds or borders, among perennials such as agapanthus, caryopteris, Rhodoanthemum hosimariensis, cape daisies, or mixed with annuals such as love-in-a-mist. It can be intermingled between rocks in a rockery (in soil that is not too chalky) with cotton lavenders, rockroses, or wormwoods. It also performs very well in pots, with proper drainage and regular fertilisation. Penstemons also make excellent cut flowers.