As Heather recognized, our mystery seeds from last week were from plants commonly called penstemon or beard-tongue, which are a number of different species in the genus Penstemon.

I chose them for Valentine’s Day for two reasons. First of all, did you notice one of the seeds was shaped like a tiny heart?

Secondly, the red and pink flowers are a beautiful way to celebrate.

As I mentioned last week, bees and hummingbirds love these flowers, too.

An easy way to identify them is look for the pairs of leaves along the stems.

The foliage often shows pink to reddish purple colors, as well as greens.

Penstemons readily reseed and seem to move about the yard from year to year if you let them. They are never overwhelming, though, just a few here and there.

Do any species of penstemon grow where you live?