Saturday, August 1, 2009

'Husker Red’


Penstemon 'Husker Red’
Common name: Beard-Tongue

It has white blooms that entice bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, but not deer or rabbits. (I’m having a huge problem with rabbits this year. But they don’t touch this plant.)

In autumn and winter, songbirds such as cardinals and goldfinch eat ripe seed from the flower stems. I love to use these seed heads in flower arrangements. They also provide some winter interest.

1 comment:

Corner Gardener Sue said...

In the past, I always cut the stems to the base of the plant when they were done blooming, but this year, I didn't, and was trying to decide if I should. Now that I've read your post, I will leave them on this year. Thanks for the information.