Penstemon digitalis 'Dark Towers'

Sizes available: Trade gallon (#1)

Basics: zones 3-8, 18-36" x 12-24", full sun, pale to medium pink, bell shaped flowers held up above the wine-red foliage on a slender but strong stem, blooms in late spring to early summer, medium amounts of water and fertility, wants good drainage

Common names: Foxglove Beardtongue

Family: Plantaginaceae

More: Penstemons are garden stalwarts and there are numerous cultivars. I like a few dark-leaved plants in my own garden and this is one of them. The strongest leaf color is in the spring. The straight species often shows various intensities of red in the early leaves and some of this persists, so you can easily see what attracted plant breeders to start selecting for this trait. The flowers are attractive to pollinators, they also make sweet additions to a flower arrangement, and the almost black, shiny seed heads that develop after them do as well. 

Nursery: Van Berkum

Image credit: High Country Gardens