12 luminous white flowers for the garden

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:

• A white garden with white flowers, white leaves and trunks