Be they simple or sophisticated, white flowers are great all-purpose plants in the garden. They pair well with all other colors and fit right into every garden style. You can add them to a colorful arrangement in a flower bed, or go the whole nine yards and make everything white. Discover 12 brilliant white flowers for outdoor gardens!
Trees with white flower
Magnolia
- Variety: Magnolia loebneri ‘Wildcat’
- Blooming period: March-April
- Feature: large double flowers that appear even before leaves do
- Exposure: sun, part sun
- Soil: cool but with good drainage, deep, rich, neutral to lightly acidic pH
- Cherry on the top? Its oval-shaped deciduous foliage: green with marked veins, turns completely golden in fall
Black locust
Variety: Robinia pseudoacacia
- Blooming period: May-June
- Feature: its long flowing creamy white clusters of flowers that release a delicious fragrance
- Exposure: full sun
- Soil: light and draining
- Cherry on the top? Melliferous plant
Tibetan cherry
- Variety: Prunus serrula ‘Branklyn’
- Blooming period: May
- Feature: its cute white cup-shaped flowers that reveal yellow stamens inside
- Exposure: sun, part sun
- Soil: deep, rich, cool but draining well
- Cherry on the top? Its red and white-striped bark, and its leafage that shifts from green to orange-yellow.
White-flower shrubs
Cherry laurel
- Variety: Prunus laurocerasus
- Blooming period: April-May
- Feature: shiny green leaves truly highlight the white flower panicles
- Exposure: sun, part sun, shade
- Soil: ordinary, drained
- Cherry on the top? A quick grower that’s easy to prune, it’s among the best hedge shrubs.
Hydrangea
- Variety: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Phantom’
- Blooming period: August to October
- Feature: a long-lasting blooming that bears fabulous panicle-like inflorescences that start off green then turn white
- Exposure: sun, part sun
- Soil: rich, cool but draining well
- Cherry on the top? Its round, mounding habit and the amazing number of flowers make this a very versatile shrub: hedge, standalone and shrub bed.
Snowball viburnum
Variety: Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’
- Blooming period: May-June
- Feature: a hydrangea look-alike, snowball viburnum always catches the eye with its round, ivory-white flower clusters
- Exposure: sun, part sun
- Soil: cool, light, neutral to acidic.
- Cherry on the top? Its fantastic scent!
Perennials with white flowers
Naples Cyclamen
- Variety: Cyclamen hederifolium ‘Album’
- Blooming period: August to October
- Feature: its slender upright flowers bowing atop brown stems will form an incredible ground cover in shaded areas
- Exposure: part shade, shade
- Soil: well-drained, neutral to chalky
- Cherry on the top? After the blooming, the serrated green leaves appear and stay lush all winter long.
Ornamental onion
- Variety: Allium neapolitanum
- Blooming period: May-June
- Feature: its umbel-shaped inflorescences composed of hundreds of small white cup-shaped flowers
- Exposure: full sun
- Soil: well drained
- Cherry on the top? Its designer-targeted appeal thanks to its straight white stems topped up with light ball-shaped flowers
Roman chamomile
Variety: Chamaemelum nobile ‘Ligulosum’
- Blooming period: June-August
- Feature: cute little yellow-hearted flowers with a daisy-like appearance, introducing a little wilderness to the garden
- Exposure: full sun
- Soil: well drained
- Cherry on the top? The health benefits this flower provides when you steep the flowers to make tea.
White annual flowers
White cosmos
- Variety: Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Sonata White’
- Blooming period: June to October
- Feature: its open, airy flower with white, striped petals with a serrated tip
- Exposure: full sun
- Soil: cool but with perfect drainage
- Cherry on the top? Long, slender stems that sway with the wind, giving it a fresh, effortless appeal.
White tulip
Variety: Tulipa x darwin ‘Hakuun’
- Blooming period: April-May
- Feature: its large immaculate white flowers 6 inches across (15 cm), with long feathery petals that are soft to touch
- Exposure: full sun
- Soil: rich, loose and draining
- Cherry on the top? It steals the show in both flower beds and bouquets!
Annual Gypsophila
- Variety: Gypsophile elegans ‘Covent Garden’
- Blooming period: June to October
- Feature: its thin, dark stems bear an abundance of open white flowers, a true cloud-like fog of flower
- Exposure: full sun
- Soil: cook and well-draining
- Cherry on the top? Its bushy bearing and silver-gray leafage.
To learn more, read:
Image credits (edits Gaspard Lorthiois):
CC BY 2.0: Ian Lee, Ettore Balocchi
CC BY-SA 2.0: stanze
Ibulb
CC BY 2.0: Ian Lee, Ettore Balocchi
CC BY-SA 2.0: stanze
Ibulb
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