I don't trim away dead foliage until the freezing nights are about done. For example, in tonight's cold weather, that dead foliage on top can protect the green foliage underneath from frost and help protect it from freezing temperatures.

The plant in the third photo is not a gaura and it is not a garden type geranium. It is a noxious weed called Carolina geranium and if you let it bloom, it will give you dozens and dozens of baby plants the following year. I yank them out the minute I see them. The flowers are tiny and very inconspicuous but they make tons of little seeds. I've been yanking them out of the grounds for weeks now. They pop up at the low end of the garden, so I think the seed is washing in from the adjacent cow pasture that sits on higher ground south of the garden.

Carolina geranium

The plant in the fourth photo probably is your gaura. It is hard to tell for sure with the dead foliage still in place, but a cultivated gaura looks like this when it is not dormant:

Gaura image

Native gauras are somewhat different in appearance, with more sparse foliage.

Thanks, Dawn. Yes, i knew the last was the guara. I uploaded in order I listed, but they switched positions. Weird! Anyway, thanks for the info on the weed/geranium. I didn't remember planting one. This was a new bed last year. Not sure where it came from. Must have hitched a ride with another plant!