White flowers are often the symbol of purity, and they do lighten a space. They often frame pops of color as well, but the most attractive aspect may be the cool, soothing aura they project.
Mixed with green leaves and stems, white blooms beckon observers to comforting havens with refreshing wafts of perfume and pleasing appearances.
1. Crocus Chrysanthus-“Snow Bunting”
Source: Commons Wikimedia
Plant these little bulbs two inches apart in the fall for late winter to early spring blooms in heat zones 1-8. They need full to partial sun and grow up to three or four inches tall. Better yet, they’re perennials with average water needs and low maintenance.
2. Easter Lily
Bulbs can be planted in fall for summer blooming, or you can buy the blooming plants in stores and plant them after the frost warning has passed. They need sun to part sun in zones 4-9 and can grow 2-5 feet. Also perennials, they need average watering and not much care but have a lovely scent.
3. White Lilac
A white lilac shrub can hide unpleasant-looking things behind it while giving off a wonderful perfume in the spring. It’s a nice green color after it’s done blooming and can be a backdrop for white flowers around it. It grows in zones 3-7.
4. Climbing Iceberg Rose
This perfect-for-trellises rose can climb to 10 feet within a year or so. Zones 4a-9b support it, and it’s hardy, everblooming and fragrant, not to mention resistant to disease. This rose can also be used as a shrub or ground cover because it is easy to train.
5. Hosta
Scented or unscented, these low-lying 18-inch perennials love shade and provide various shades of green for the entire growing season. The Aphrodite blooms in August, emitting a “heady” fragrance and grass-green, wide leaves. They’re also good borders in zones 5-8S/9W. Space them about 18 inches apart since they spread quite a bit and need separating after a while.
6. Shasta Daisy
This hardy perennial in zones 5-8 is dependable and blooms from early summer through early fall. About 2-3 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide, it comes up in clumps and has yellow centers and darkish green leaves. A few of these clumps in the center of a garden would provide the white color you want for most of the season.
7. Delphinium Centurion white
Tall flowers resistant to deer, these delphiniums are good back-line flowers for layered gardens with shorter flowers in front. They need full sun in zones 3-7S/10W and should sit 15-18 inches apart. Planted in fall, they will bloom in June and July and are great for cutting, too.
8. Peony
Source: Commons Wikimedia
These perennial June bloomers are good for zones 3-8 and need full sun. One of the lushest of fluffy and puffy flowers, they often appear in works of art and make some of the best arrangements of cut flowers. The green leaves last most of the summer and make a good low border.
9. Hydrangea Arborescens Incredible
At a height of 4-5 feet, this round bush with snowball-like flowers blooms all summer in zones 3-9S/W. In full or part sun, it is a centerpiece or cornerstone of the garden. Space a few of them 4-5 feet apart for a border. The very large blooms are great for cutting, and it’s a perennial.
10. Clematis Paniculata
This climbing vine produces blooms in August and September in zones 4-8S/10W. This type of clematis will grow all over a structure and cover it completely in one season and is about 30 inches tall. Another type, Snow Drift, will grow up an arbor.
11. Salvia Summer Jewel white
This plant is one of the top ten hummingbird attractions. Bees and butterflies like it as well. Blooming all summer, this 3-year perennial is good in partial shade or full sun. It needs an average amount of water in zones 7-10. It’s about 20 inches tall and 15 inches wide and great for cutting.
12. Canna lily Moonshine
Source: Canna News
This beautiful 3-4-foot-tall lily is an annual but works well in zones 2-10. It’s easy to take care of with average watering and has large white flowers. It blooms from mid-summer to the first frost and is deer-resistant. Plant one bulb per square foot or in a container.
13. Hellebore, Christmas Rose
White hellebores bloom every December and January. They have 2-4-inch flowers, and are 15-20 inches tall. They need sun in the winter and should be planted in early spring about 12-15 inches apart. They work in zones 4-8 and need 3-6 weeks of freezing temperatures to germinate.
14. Yucca Filamentosa
Also called Adam’s Needle, these sharp leaf tips will hurt, so wear gloves to work with them. Adam’s Needle is a low-maintenance plant, growing even in sandy soil, it likes dry to medium amounts of water. Up to 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide, it has showy white flowers that bloom in June and July in zones 5-10. Protect the kids.
15. Astilbe, White Gloria
Growing in full shade, full sun or partial sun, astilbe may grow to 20 by 28 inches in zones 4-9. Blooming in June, it needs average watering and is a perennial. It needs fertile soil for bushy flowers.
A white garden needs flowers blooming throughout the season as the list suggests. Green foliage shows up the whiteness effectively. It is a calming, satisfying experience to sit in one.