Imagine a front yard with pristine white flowers surrounded by evergreens and a perfect green lawn. The lawn is not impossible, when properly cared for and maintained, but the white flowers sitting on bushes like decorations on a Christmas tree can provide a fairy tale quality in front of your home. There are a number of common flowering bushes and trees that will blossom in white during the spring and summer seasons of the year. Below are ten different bushes and trees that you can choose from to add to your front yard landscape:
Spanish Broom. Also called the pearly white broom, this shrub is native to the Mediterranean region and looks like the end of a broom, upside down. It has small white flowers on it. Some varieties come in yellow so be sure you get the white. The flowers resemble those found on pea plants. This can spread on its own once it seeds in the fall, but it can be kept under control through pruning.
Snowball Bush. Also called viburnum, this pretty bush has clusters of flowers resembling snowballs. Red berries appear on the bush which contain seeds. Birds are known for eating these berries, and the bush will blossom each year in the spring and summer.
Mock orange. Also called philadelphus, this bush has flowers that closely resemble those of an orange tree. These delicate flowers blossom in the late spring and last through the summer season. The bush produces a small fruit in the shape of a capsule where the seeds are dispensed from.
Dogwood. This ornamental tree is one of the most beautiful and can usually be purchased through a nursery. The wood of this tree is hard and durable and has been used in the past for items like loom frames and tool handles. The dogwood produces drupes that contain the seeds of the tree.
Serviceberry. Also called the shadbush, sugarplum, and serviceberry, this shrub has star shaped flowers that grow in clusters on each branch. The fruit of this bush is edible and can be used in making jams and jellies.
Hydrangea. Sometimes mistaken for the snowball bush, hydrangea has giant, globular clusters of small flowers that react to the acidity of the soil. The acid level of the soil can actually change the color of the hydrangea. Try a pH balance for your soil to prevent the flowers from turning blue. Hydrangea makes a great cut flower for indoors, too.
Elderberry. Sometimes called sambucus, this bush has tiny five-petaled flowers with little ppoints coming out of each flower. The berries of this bush have been used to treat a number of diseases, including Influenza B.(1)
Potentilla. This is a member of the cinquefoil family and has leaves that look like those of a strawberry plant. The fruit of the potentilla is not edible, though. Ask your nursery which variety of potentilla has the white flowers, as some also come in yellow and pink.
Snowfall ninebark. This bush has small clusters of round-petaled flowers that can do well in dry climates. This can grow in either full sunlight, or partial shade near the house. This will blossom profusely during the summer season.(2)
Japanese white spiraea. The flowers of this bush look like small fuzzballs once they blossom. The shrub tends to grow in a globe formation at an average height of 2 feet tall.(3)
On a sheet of paper, sketch where you want to place your white blossoming bushes and ornamental trees. Some can be placed by the house, directly in the center of the front yard, or by your front porch. You can combine several different bushes in a row, such as the snowball, and Spanish broom. Plant each shrub according to the directions that come with it from the nursery. Water your bushes after they are planted. Remove any dead blossoms that are visible. Your white flowering bushes will now enjoy their new home in your yard!
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elderberry
2. http://www.naturehills.com/product/snowfall_ninebark.aspx
3. http://www.naturehills.com/product/japanese_white_spiraea.aspx
