Lowly Penstemon: The 117th Flower of Spring & Summer!

Finding this flower was another amazing surprise!! Last year I wandered all over our property with my Canon SX130IS, and I found a lot of flowers. I knew I would find many more this year because I was trying to find them all, but I didn't expect to find this lovely flower in our meadow!! I've taken pictures of Penstemons before, but I really didn't think they grew here...SURPRISE!! :D

This magnificent flower is called the Lowly Penstemon because it is short, growing only about 4-10" in height. The blossoms measure about 1/3" tall, 1/2" wide, and about 1" deep, and are covered with sticky resin. They grow in the Pacific Northwest.

When I took a picture of my first Penstemon last year, I had no idea there were so many species of this flower! In fact, there are over 300, which are found all over North and Central America. They are extremely popular as garden flowers and have been cultivated extensively for many years.

If you would like to know more about this flower, Wiki has a nice introduction here: Wiki: Penstemon
I found a very nice page here as well: Rob's Plants: Penstemon
There's also the American Penstemon Society, which is brimming with information and pictures! :)