Penstemon palmeri

Balloon flower, Penstemon palmeri is a showy perennial with tall spikes of large pale pink to white flowers, over silver leaves. The flowers of this Penstemon are fragrant! They smell like roses. It is native to desert mountains so can take drought heat and cold in stride. It is fairly easy to grow in the garden with good drainage. It loves it in the desert and grows into a big showy plant that is covered with 3' spikes of large fuzzy flowers that bumblebees like to crawl into. The big fat flowers usually have big fat bumble bees buzzing around in them. In a coastal garden find the hottest driest spot that everything burns up in, this it the plant for that spot. We plant it where all the other plants died because it is too hot and dry. They are excellent at attracting pollinators. People who see this think it is a foxglove, very showy! And it smells good! Click here for more about California Penstemons.