As the temperatures rise and the rain begins to taper off I gain new appreciation for the plants in my garden that are heat and drought tolerant. One of my favorites is gaura or wand flower. It is called wand flower because its star shaped blooms are borne on long wispy stems.

I like to plant gaura in the garden or in containers where the delicate stems can grow up among other blooms and foliage. I think it works particularly well with round full plants with a feathery texture like artemisia.

Gaura lindheimeri is a native in the United States from Louisiana to Texas.