Gaura 'Monarch White'

Gaura 'Monarch White': White Flutters Calm the Hot Colours

'Monarch White' is the sister who shows up to every event in crisp linen and never gets a single wrinkle. Little white flowers float on long, airy wands all summer. THE DEER WALK RIGHT PAST. THE POLLINATORS RSVP YES.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Gaura lindheimeri (now also classified as Oenothera lindheimeri)
• Common Name: Butterfly Flower, Wand Flower, Beeblossom
• Series: Monarch series, from Dümmen Orange
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 45–50 cm (18–20 in)
• Flowers: Small, four-petalled white flowers along long, arching wands
• Bloom Time: Early summer to early fall (June to September)
• Foliage: Narrow green leaves in an airy, upright clump

Where to Plant: Drop it between hot reds and oranges to calm a bed down, or use it at the front of a border, where it glows at dusk. It's lovely in big containers where the stems can arch over the edge. It's tender here, so in Toronto give it a sheltered, sharply drained spot, and in Ottawa and Montreal grow it in a container or try your warmest, driest corner.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Monarch White' in a sunny, dry bed with magenta thrift, violet lavender and a dark grass. Armeria 'Rubrifolia' edges the front with magenta-pink pompoms at 15 to 20 cm in May and June. Lavandula 'Hidcote Blue' adds deep violet spikes at 30 to 45 cm from June to August. Liatris 'Floristan White' brings creamy white spikes at 75 to 90 cm from July to September. Andropogon 'Blackhawks' stands behind at 150 cm, its blades darkening to purple-black.

Plant Care: Choose full sun and light, well-drained soil. Gaura hates wet feet in winter, so avoid heavy clay or low spots, or work in plenty of grit. No fertilizer needed. Lean soil keeps the stems sturdier. Water through the first season. After that, water only during long droughts. Trim spent wands in midsummer to keep it neat and encourage more flowers. Leave the stems on over winter and cut back in spring when new shoots show. Its long taproot means it's best left where you plant it.

History: Wild Gaura lindheimeri comes from Texas, Louisiana and Mexico and is named for Ferdinand Lindheimer, a 19th-century German-born botanist who worked in Texas. Botanists now place it in Oenothera, the evening primrose genus, and the Monarch series was introduced by Dümmen Orange and shown at the California Spring Trials in 2023.

Final Thoughts: Pair it with anything loud and let it play the calm one at the party. Breezy, drought tolerant once settled and completely unwrinkled. GO ON. CROWN IT.