Plants that bloom in May in Zone 4 with white flowers

Apple

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

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.

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.

Cliffrose

Creamy white rose-like flowers with sweet fragrance and feathery seed plumes on a tough Rocky Mountain native.

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.

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.

Epimedium

Delicate fairy-wing flowers above leathery foliage. One of the toughest dry shade groundcovers.

Fawn Lily

Mottled leaves and nodding white flowers with swept-back petals emerge in early spring from Pacific Northwest woodlands.

Festiva Maxima Peony

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

Fothergilla

Fragrant white bottlebrush flowers in spring give way to some of the best orange-red fall color of any small native shrub.

Foxglove

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

Fringe Tree

Clouds of white fringed petals dripping from branches in late spring. Fragrant and underused native.

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.

Hawthorn

White spring flowers, glossy red fruit, and exfoliating bark. Thorny but beautiful native with winter interest.

Henryi Clematis

Large, pure white flowers with dark brown anthers rebloom in fall. Elegant, classic, and undeniably refined.

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.

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.

Mock Orange

Arching stems carry orange-blossom-scented white flowers in late spring.

Mountain Laurel

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

Ninebark

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

Penstemon

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

Peony

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

Petunia

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

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.

Saxifrage

Mossy cushions dotted with dainty flowers. Tucks into rock crevices where little else will grow.

Sensation Lilac

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

Shooting Star

Nodding flowers with swept-back petals resemble tiny shooting stars in spring meadows.

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.

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.

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.

Twinspike Coral Bells

Warm amber-caramel foliage that glows in the shade garden all season. The flowers are just a bonus.

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.

White Wild Indigo

Luminous white lupin-like spikes on a structural native that's practically indestructible and improves with every year.

Wild Azalea

Sweetly fragrant pinwheel flowers on a deciduous native azalea that grows from New England to Georgia. Earlier and more cold-hardy than most.

Wild Blue Phlox

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