Plants that bloom in May in Zone 3 with white flowers

Angelique Tulip

Double late tulip that looks like a small peony in soft pink and cream. Long-lasting blooms with light fragrance.

Annual Vinca

Glossy-leaved heat champion (botanically unrelated to true Vinca minor) that blooms through humidity that wilts everything else.

Apple

Fragrant white to pink flowers in spring precede a fall crop of dessert apples.

Bachelor's Button

True cornflower blue that almost no other flower can match. Cottage garden classic that self-sows reliably.

Batik Iris

Streaked and splashed purple-and-white pattern unlike any other iris. Each bloom is unique, like brushwork on silk.

Bleeding Heart

Arching sprays of heart-shaped flowers for shady woodland gardens.

Bowl of Beauty Peony

Hot pink outer petals cup a creamy center of narrow petaloids. Dramatic and unmistakable.

Butter and Sugar Siberian Iris

Cream-white standards over butter-yellow falls. The first dependable yellow-and-white Siberian iris ever introduced.

Camassia

Tall spikes of starry flowers rise above strappy foliage in late spring.

Chamomile

Tiny daisy flowers with apple-scented foliage. Brew into tea or let it naturalize between pavers.

Clematis

The queen of flowering vines. Over 300 species, something for every spot.

Columbine

Delicate, spurred flowers that dance on wiry stems. Hummingbird favorite.

Coral Bells

Grown mostly for dramatic foliage, but the tiny bell flowers are a bonus.

Creeping Phlox

An evergreen sun-loving groundcover that smothers walls, slopes, and rock gardens in dense pink, purple, blue, lavender, or white sheets every April and May.

Daffodil

Cheerful trumpets that naturalize beautifully and return stronger each year.

Dianthus

Spicy clove-scented pinks with fringed petals in pink, red, white, or salmon, one of the best long-blooming edgers and front-of-border perennials for sun.

Duchesse de Nemours Peony

Pure white double blooms with a hint of yellow at the heart and a powerful lily-of-the-valley fragrance. A heritage favorite since 1856.

Dutchman's Breeches

Finely cut foliage and clusters of puffy white pantaloon-shaped flowers in early spring. A charming ephemeral that disappears by summer.

Dwarf Crested Iris

Tiny lavender-blue iris flowers with gold crests on a spreading native ground cover. A spring woodland treasure.

Festiva Maxima Peony

Pure white double blooms flecked with crimson at the center. Beloved since 1851 and still unmatched.

Forget-me-not

Clouds of tiny sky-blue flowers carpet the ground in spring. Self-sows freely under shrubs and around tulips.

Foxglove

Stately spires of spotted, bell-shaped flowers. Cottage garden royalty.

Fritillaria

Checkered, nodding bells with an otherworldly pattern. A collector's favorite.

Grape Hyacinth

Tiny grape-like clusters that spread into rivers of blue over time.

Highbush Blueberry

Bell-shaped spring flowers are followed by sweet blue berries and excellent fall color.

Honeysuckle

Tubular, nectar-rich flowers with a fragrance that defines summer evenings.

Husker Red Penstemon

Dramatic burgundy-red foliage all season with white tubular flowers in late spring. The most striking native penstemon for gardens.

Immortality Iris

Reliable rebloomer with pure white ruffled falls. Blooms spring, then again in fall.

Impatiens

The shade annual champion. Flowers prolifically where nothing else will.

Iris

Elegant sword-leaved perennials with intricate, ruffled blooms.

Krinkled White Peony

Single bowl-shaped flowers with crinkled white petals around a brilliant yellow boss of stamens. Elegant, airy, and adored by bees.

Larkspur

Tall spires of spurred flowers in deep blue and purple. The annual cousin of delphinium, easier to grow from seed and just as dramatic.

Lilac

Intensely fragrant clusters that define spring in northern gardens.

Lily-of-the-Valley

Tiny bell-shaped flowers with one of the most intoxicating fragrances in the plant world. Spreads into lush carpets under trees.

Lupine

Dramatic spikes in every color. Short-lived but self-seeds generously.

Mount Tacoma Tulip

Pure white double late blooms that look like peonies. The reliable white answer to Angelique with the same long vase life.

Mountain Laurel

Exquisite geometric buds open to cupped flowers. A native evergreen gem.

Nigella

Sky-blue flowers wreathed in feathery green bracts give way to ornamental striped seed pods. Self-sows freely once you start.

Ninebark

Peeling bark, burgundy foliage, and white puffs. A native multitasker.

Penstemon

Tubular flowers on upright stems. Native hummingbird magnet for dry gardens.

Pentas

Star-shaped flower clusters that hummingbirds and butterflies hit on every pass. Blooms nonstop in heat that stops impatiens cold.

Peony

Lush, ruffled blooms with intoxicating fragrance. Lives for decades.

Petunia

Cascading color for containers and beds. Blooms nonstop until frost.

Pheasant's Eye Daffodil

Reflexed white petals around a tiny eye of yellow rimmed with red. Intensely fragrant heirloom, the latest daffodil to bloom each spring.

Portulaca

Succulent-leaved sun lover with silky rose-like blooms that thrives where pavement, rock, or sand defeats everything else.

Red Twig Dogwood

Flat clusters of white flowers and berries give way to vivid red stems that shine in winter.

Rhododendron

Big, bold trusses of bloom over glossy evergreen foliage.

Rocky Mountain Columbine

Large blue-and-white spurred flowers bloom in late spring above lacy foliage.

Rose

The queen of the garden. Modern varieties are surprisingly low-maintenance.

Salvia

Vertical flower spikes that hummingbirds and bees cannot resist.

Sensation Lilac

Unique bicolor blooms with purple petals edged in white. A head-turner in any spring garden.

Snapdragon

Vertical flower spikes with squeeze-open blooms. Kids love them.

Solomon's Seal

Arching stems hung with dangling white bells. Pairs of leaves create graceful, layered architecture.

Speedwell

Tidy spikes of blue that add vertical punch to the front of the border.

Spirea

Flat-topped flower clusters on tidy mounds. The easiest flowering shrub.

Spring Green Tulip

Viridiflora tulip with ivory petals brushed by a wide green flame. Florists adore it, gardens come alive with it, and it lasts for weeks.

Stock

Dense spikes of clove-scented blooms in soft pastels. Cool-season cut flower that fills a room with spicy perfume.

Sweet Alyssum

Honey-scented carpet of tiny flowers. The best living edging plant.

Sweet Pea

Ruffled, intensely fragrant climbing flowers in every pastel shade. Cool-season annual that hates heat.

Sweet William

Dense flat clusters in zoned bicolors with a sweet clove fragrance. Old-fashioned cottage charm that returns reliably.

Thalia Daffodil

Pure white, swept-back petals with two to three blooms per stem. Orchid-like elegance.

Trillium

Three leaves, three petals, pure elegance. The jewel of eastern woodlands.

Tulip

The classic spring icon in almost every color imaginable.

Viburnum

Fragrant snowball clusters in spring, then berries for birds in fall.

Vinca

Evergreen mat with periwinkle-blue flowers. Tough shade ground cover.

Weigela

Tubular blooms smother arching branches in late spring. Hummingbird haven.

Wild Blue Phlox

Loose clusters of sky-blue flowers float above woodland floors in spring on a fragrant, mat-forming native.