Gaura lindheimeri or “The Bride”. The pink version is also called the Butterfly Bush though not related to the Buddleia, but because the colorful flowers themselves look like butterflies gathered around the low-growing tangle of Gaura stems & branches, its green leaves mottled maroon.
Gaura wants a sunny location in extremely well-draining soil with a good measure of organic material enriching the earth. It becomes so drought tolerant once established. Its drought tolerance is the result of a very deep taproot, which is also what keeps Gaura from transplanting very well, the root being too deep to dig up entirely. So be sure to place it carefully, since if you decide you want to move it after the taproot is down, you may kill it by the move.
It forms a large clump of untidy twisted nearly prostrate branches that can mound to two feet height, which is small in comparison to the wild species which can be twice the size of most of the cultivars, & even ‘Siskiyou Pink’ can actually sprawl to four feet wide if not pruned back from time to time. Read more and see pictures of the Gaura lindheimeri ‘Siskiyou Pink’ here
The maroon buds open as bright pink. They are excellent for use in bouquets. Blossoms begin to appear late in spring (by June in our zone) or very early in summer, & it continues to bloom through the first hard frosts of autumn or even into winter.
NATURE IN JAPAN 