Penstemon digitalis (Beardtongue) is native to the Eastern and Southeastern United States.  It is ideal for the wild, native, or naturalized garden, and its showy white, two-lipped tubular flowers are perfect for cutting and are enticing to birds and butterflies.  This clump-forming native grows from three to five feet tall in average soil and in full sun.  Something interesting to note:   Penstemon, in Greek, means 5 stamens (four fertile, one sterile).  The reason why Penstemon's common name is "Beardtongue" is because the sterile stamen has a tuft of small hairs.  Source: www.missouribotanicalgarden.org.  Zones 2-9.  Quarts.

Penstemon "Husker's Red" refers to the attractive burgundy foliage, not the white  or off-white tubular flowers, although they are showy, too.  This hardy
perennial plant stands about three feet high and blooms early and for quite a while in sun or part shade.  Penstemon "Husker's Red" is long lived and reseeds reliably.  Hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees also find it interesting, too.  Zones 2-8.  Quarts and larger.

Penstemon eatonii, commonly known as Firecracker Penstemon because of its bright red, tubular flowers, is a native to the deserts of some Southwestern states.  It was collected by Daniel Eaton, an American botanist, in Utah in 1869, hence the other common names.)  Penstemon eatonii grows to about 40 inches with tough, leathery leaves and tall flower stalks that support one-inch showy, scarlet blooms.  Penstemon eatonii is attractive to hummingbirds, and it is drought tolerant, which makes it ideal for xeriscape gardens.  (Photo by Al Schneider, http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/ and used with his permission)  Available spring, 2013.

I have always been a fan of Penstemons, and this one intrigues me.  It is a Southwest American native, semi-evergreen, and, from all accounts, long lived.  It grows from 12 to 18 inches in full sun and average soil with showy, red/orange flowers.  What interests me most, though, is the tiny, pine-needle foliage.  Now that's different.  Zones
4-9.  (You don't have to live in New Mexico to grow this one, but be sure to give it good drainage and don't overwater.)   Quarts.  (Photo courtesy of Gary A. Monroe, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database and used with his permission).

Penstemon smallii, native to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, is one of the prettiest Penstemons and wildflowers that I know.  Growing from 18 to 30 inches in full sun or dappled shade, its bright green, opposite leaves join at the stem, much like Boneset.  In early to late summer, those stems are adorned with rosy lavender, white-throated blossoms that hummingbirds and butterflies fight over.  Penstemon smallii is heat and humidity tolerant and prefers well-drained, ordinary soil.  It has been my experience that this hardy native wildflower is not particularly long-lived, so be sure to let it reseed each year to ensure its presence somewhere in your garden.  Sun/partial shade
in Zones 5-9.  Quarts.

I don't see how a Penstemon could get any better than this one,or any flower for that matter, and this lovely photo says it all.  Penstemon strictus, native wildflower to the some western states and California, grows to about 30 inches with dark green leaves and erect stems that support brilliant blue/purple blooms in late summer.  Penstemon strictus is drought tolerant.  Full sun in Zones 3-8.  Quarts. (Photo by Jerry Freidman, Wiki Commons,  and used with his permission.)  Available spring, 2013.