Penstemon

1 Penstemon eatonii , Firecracker penstemon, native to Colorado but I planted the parents of these
2 Penstemon grandiflorus, Large flowered penstemon, native to Colo but more likely in Nebr or SDakota
3 Penstemon psuedospecibilis, a bit of a mystery - native to AZ and I did not plant it. One of the neighbors must have it where I can't see it, & critters must have brought me seeds.
3 & 4 background: Blue Penstemon strictus, Rocky Mountain penstemon. Native to Colo but I planted the first one. It has spread all down the east side of the yard.

They're all beautiful! I really like that last photo; it looks like you've got other perennials planted amidst grasses or sedges. What is the grass with the droopy head?

Oh Dear - I think you must mean the Cheat Grass. It is a nuisance cool-season annual - the ripe awns lodge in socks, pet fur, and livestock throats. I have a bagging lawn mower that I use on it when there is room to get it between the flowers. The rest I pull by hand - and I am behind on weeding because all the weeds and grass are so lush this year.

Those are very pretty. I like the red. If you read my Unknown Friends post, you know I have some Penstemon in bloom here. I hope mine spread, but I read the Large-flowered doesn't like competition.

I propagate penstemon the lazy way. I cut off the bloom stocks of the ones I like when they are mostly dry & toss them where I would like more penstemon, then walk on them so they are pressed down & stay put. The Blue Rocky Mountain has spread profusely this way. The Large-flowered has spread more modestly. The Firecracker has spread on its own, but not as well where I tried to put it. The large flowered was on the edge of the border without much competition before we got all the rain, so you may be right about that.

A better way to do it is cut off the bloom stocks when they are mostly dry and the pods are starting to open. If you pick them while they are still closed, the pods are as hard as rocks and difficult to shell. Then put them upside-down in a paper bag or bucket and let them finish drying and dropping seeds. Then late winter or early spring either direct sow where you want them (recommended) or sow in a nursery bed or pots outdoors sheltered. Most pentemon have to "cold stratify" to sprout, and need to go through some winter/spring weather.

Your Cheat Grass sounds even worse than our Stilt Grass! It does look nice growing there, though.

I cold-stratified Penstemon digitalis seeds and sowed them in pots this year and got very good germination rates. I was surprised because normally I don't have much luck with seeds.