Penstemon hybrida Le Phare - Beardtongue

The 'Le Phare' hybrid Penstemon displays a dazzling flowering, which releases all its strength under the brutal summer sun. Its large, light, bright red campanulate flowers bloom on a deep white throat that captures the light and guides the gaze, randomly marking the garden in the beds. They are carried by a very bushy plant with semi-evergreen foliage quite wide and green-blue. This exceptional perennial is certainly not the hardiest, but it tolerates occasional periods of drought well and is suitable for ordinary soil. It is also a wonderful cut flower, perfect in sunny beds or planted in large containers.

The 'Le Phare' hybrid Penstemon is a bushy and woody perennial plant belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family, just like foxgloves and snapdragons. Like many hybrid penstemons, it is the result of cross-breeding several species, mostly from Central and North America. This variety forms beautiful dense clumps of 60 cm (24in) in all directions, with branched stems covered with dark green lanceolate foliage. Its growth is quite fast. The flowering extends from June to October, developing at the terminal part of the leafy stems. The bicoloured flowers, in the form of large campanulate bells, are gathered in slightly loose clusters. They display an immaculate white colour, largely bordered by light red.

The 'Le Phare' penstemon is used in beds or borders, among perennials such as agapanthus, caryopteris, Rhodanthemum hosimariensis, Cape daisies, or mixed with annuals such as love-in-a-mist. It will mingle among the rocks of the rockery (in soil not too chalky) with cotton lavenders, rockroses or wormwoods. It also performs well in pots, with appropriate drainage and regular fertilizer inputs. Penstemons also make excellent cut flowers.