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  5. Best White Flowers for Your Garden

Best White Flowers for Your Garden

Viveka Neveln Headshot
By Viveka Neveln February 19, 2016
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White flowers lend a cooling effect to the garden, especially on hot summer days. White flowers practically glow in the evening, so they're perfect for planting along pathways, or up against a deck or patio. Check out some of our favorite white flowers.
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Lily-of-the-Valley

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This sweetly scented ground cover is an old-fashioned favorite. A standby for shade, it has small white flowers and can spread quickly.

Note: All parts of lily-of-the-valley are poisonous.

Plant Name: Convallaria majalis

Growing Conditions: Shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 1 foot tall; clumps can spread several feet wide

Zones: 2-7

Grow it with: Lily-of-the-valley looks great as a carpet under taller plants such as bleeding heart.

  • Click here to learn more about growing lily-of-the-valley
  • Click here to learn about other great shade plants to grow with lily-of-the-valley
  • Buy white flowers in our shop!

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Iceberg Rose

Creamy light yellow flowers and flower buds

One of the most dependable types of white flowers, 'Iceberg' produces clusters of fragrant, creamy-white blooms all summer and fall.

Name: Rosa 'Iceberg'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide

Zones: 5-9

Plant it with: 'Iceberg' pairs perfectly with any other type of rose, as well as lavender (Lavandula) and catmint (Nepeta).

  • Learn about other great floribunda roses.

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Annabelle Hydrangea

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Annabelle hydrangea is one of the easiest types of white flowers to grow. It blooms in midsummer producing large, pure white clusters that are perfect for cutting.

Plant Name: Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle'

Growing Conditions: Part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Plant it with: 'Annabelle' is a perfect partner for bigleaf hydrangeas or oakleaf hydrangeas.

  • Click here for more on growing Annabelle hydrangea

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Japanese Anemone

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A great cut flower for the fall garden, Japanese anemone produces cup-shaped blooms in shades of pink and white. It can be a bit of spreader; plant it where it has plenty of room to grow.

Plant Name: Anemone hybrida

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 5 feet tall; clumps can spread several feet across

Zones: 4-8

Plant it with: Anemones make great companions for goldenrods, as well as tall varieties of aster.

  • Click here to learn more about growing anemone

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Lilac

Edith Cavell lilac

You don't have to rely on only annuals and perennials for beautiful flowers. Many shrubs -- including lilac -- also offer beautiful white blooms.

Plant Name: Syringa selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 20 or more feet tall and wide

Zones: 4-8

Plant it with: Most lilacs grow large enough that they don't accommodate a plant partner. Try dwarf selections with peonies or shrub roses for a beautiful spring combination.

  • Click here for more on growing lilac
  • Click here to learn about some of the best lilacs for your garden (even if you live in the South!)

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Calla

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Another favorite cut flower, calla is a tender plant with elegant, vase-shaped flowers. White is the classic color, but you can also find callas in shades of yellow, orange, pink, and purple.

Plant Name: Zantedeschia selections

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 8-10, depending on selection

Plant it with: Callas look beautiful with the full flowers of double dahlias and accent the tropical feel of dwarf cannas.

  • Click here for more on growing calla

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Cup Flower

'Mont Blanc' nierembergia

Cup flower is a fantastic plant for adding fine texture to the front of the border or in containers. It produces white, lavender, or purple flowers all summer long over ferny foliage.

Plant Name: Nierembergia caerulea 'Mont Blanc'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 1 foot tall and wide

Zones: 7-10, but often grown as an annual

Plant it with: Annual vinca (Catharanthus), which has similar flowers but a coarser texture.

  • Click here for more on growing cup flower

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Sweet Autumn Clematis

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Sweet autumn clematis is sure to fill your entire garden with its sweet scent at summer's end. This vigorous vine needs a sturdy support to climb on.

Plant Name: Clematis terniflora

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: Climbs to 20 feet or more

Zones: 4-9

Plant it with: This fast-growing vine doesn't play well with others; let it cover its support all on its own.

  • Click here for more on growing sweet autumn clematis

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Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum

One of the most cheerful perennials, Shasta daisy offers simple white flowers with sunny yellow centers for most of the summer.

Plant Name: Leucanthemum x superbum

Growing Conditions: Full sun or part shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide

Zones: 5-8

Plant it with: Silvery lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) makes a perfect foil for Shasta daisy.

  • Click here for more on growing Shasta daisy

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Annual Vinca

Catharanthus 'Pretty in White' vinca

Annual vinca has a decidedly tropical look with its saucer-shaped white flowers in saturated shades of red, rose, pink, and purple. The white varieties stand out best, though.

Plant Name: Catharanthus roseus

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: to 18 inches tall and wide

Zones: 10, but usually grown as an annual

Plant it with: Grow annual vinca as an upright contrast to trailing calibrachoa or mini petunias.

  • Click here for more on growing annual vinca
  • See how to incorporate cool colors into your garden.

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Queen Anne's Lace

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This easy-growing cut flower offers umbrella-shaped clusters of lacy blooms in mid to late summer. A relative of the carrot, it has a taproot and doesn't transplant well, but it reseeds gregariously.

Plant Name: Daucus carota

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall and 1 foot wide

Zones: Biennial in Zones 4-8

Plant it with: Queen Anne's lace has a lot of charm; plant it with other cottage-garden plants such as foxglove (Digitalis) or zinnia.

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Immortality Iris

Iris Immortality

Tall bearded irises are great garden plants, but varieties like pure-white 'Immortality' are must-haves because they often rebloom again in late summer.

Plant Name: Iris 'Immortality'

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide

Zones: 3-9

Plant it with: Peonies such as 'Krinkled White' for a knock-out combination.

  • Click here for more on growing tall bearded iris

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Datura

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This beautiful annual is great for evening gardens; its perfumed white trumpet-shaped white flowers open at dusk and remain open until dawn.

Note: All parts of this plant are extremely poisonous

Plant Name: Datura meteloides

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil. Once established, it is quite drought tolerant.

Size: To 3 feet tall and wide

Zones: Annual

Grow it with: Evening primrose (Oenothera), which also blooms at night.

  • Learn more about datura.

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    1 of 13 Lily-of-the-Valley
    2 of 13 Iceberg Rose
    3 of 13 Annabelle Hydrangea
    4 of 13 Japanese Anemone
    5 of 13 Lilac
    6 of 13 Calla
    7 of 13 Cup Flower
    8 of 13 Sweet Autumn Clematis
    9 of 13 Shasta Daisy
    10 of 13 Annual Vinca
    11 of 13 Queen Anne's Lace
    12 of 13 Immortality Iris
    13 of 13 Datura

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