Gaura lindheimeri - Lindheimer's Beeblossom seeds

The Gaura lindheimeri is an exceptionally generous perennial plant, very branched, extremely floriferous, covering itself from June to September with abundant pink buds that open into bright white flowers before fading gently to pink. Its foliage is deciduous, composed of small hairy leaves, green with red dots. It grows rapidly. This plant, although short-lived, is both elegant and proud, indispensable in a flowering garden. Perfect in dry to moist soil, even poor, even in full wind, in the sun. The sowing is easy, and flowering is quick.

Gaura lindheimeri belongs to the onagraceae family, it is a cousin of evening primroses. The natural habitat of Gaura lindheimeri  is on the borders of Mexico and the United States (Prairies and pine forests of Louisiana and Texas, Houston). It is one of the most floriferous plants with an airy and graceful tufted habit. It is a perennial with a taproot which forms a bushy, slightly spreading tuft, 90 cm (35in) tall, with a spread of 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24in) from a sometimes evergreen rosette. It is the branched, very numerous and slender floral stems that give the plant its bushy appearance. Flowering takes place in successive waves, from the middle of spring until autumn. The successive flowers resemble butterflies and mingle with the pink buds in paniculate spikes 30 to 80 cm (12 to 32in) long. They are white, barely washed with pale pink and slightly pink on the outside. The medium green, deciduous foliage is irregularly dotted with red. The small leaves are velvety on both sides. The plant has a taproot that allows it to anchor itself in poor and rocky soils.

Gauras have quickly become the stars of urban flower beds and gardens. This success is due to their incredible floribundance and the speed at which they develop. These plants seem unaffected by the wind and quickly become essential for those who try them for a year. They bring lightness and grace wherever you plant them. Gaura lindheimeri fits well in the background of herbaceous borders or in flower beds. It pairs well with old roses, grows among shrubs like abelias and deutzias and accompanies perennials like daylilies, catmints, Scabiosa Moon Dance, Asclepias Ice Ballet, and Oenothera versicolor. Gaura also performs well in large pots.

The species name comes from the Greek 'gauros' which means magnificent and proud, alluding to the astonishing, butterfly-like flowers attached to its stems.