With a name like ‘Whirling Butterflies’ how can you not like this plant native to the American Southwest? Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri) is a drought and heat tolerant perennial that is quickly gaining recognition as a superb garden plant. The plant is fairly large as perennials go, forming an open, airy, shrub-like shape three to four feet high with equal spread. The plant blooms from early summer until fall, bearing long slender stems with spikes of white flowers that gradually turn pink. In a breeze, the free-flowing stems and loose sprays of flowers look like a cloud of small butterflies, hence the name of one of its cultivars, ‘Whirling Butterflies’. Gaura is long-lived and easily grown in dry, well-drained soils. Flowers do not appear in profusion at any one time, yet blooms are continuously seen throughout the summer. The ideal location for this plant is in well drained, sandy soil in full sun to partial shade. Gaura looks best in groupings that add an informal appearance to a perennial border, or the plant can be used in a natural setting with wildflowers.

Planting and plant care is simple. Gaura lindheimeri can be grown from seed. In fact, the plant is self-seeding if left to it’s own devices. However, the plant is usually available in nurseries in one-gallon sizes. Several selections are available including ‘Corrie’s Gold’, a variegated leaf selection with creamy-yellow flowers; ‘Siskyou Pink’, having deep pink blossoms; and the aforementioned ‘Whirling Butterflies’ with slightly larger, white flowers. At the end of the blooming season, Gaura can be pruned within a few inches of the ground. Gaura is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 5. However, mulching around the base of the plant in cold winter areas will help protect root systems.