Top 10 Beautiful Lily Flowers to Love
Updated: Jul. 18, 2023
From Asiatic lilies to Oriental lilies, plant some of these beautiful lily flowers to add color and fragrance to your garden.
Prized for their showy, often fragrant flowers, and ease of cultivation, lilies are among the most popular garden plants. You can buy bulbs online and plant them in spring or fall. Most lilies grow best in sunny locations with well-drained soil. For a nonstop flower show, combine early bloomers like Asiatics with mid-season Orientals and late-blooming trumpet lilies. Try these beautiful lily flowers in your garden.
Forever Susan Asiatic Lily Flower
Lilium ‘Forever Susan,’ Zones 3 to 9
If you love bold and beautiful lily flowers, then Forever Susan lilies will definitely meet those needs with orange and burgundy hues. These lilies have a long flowering life, and they do great in both full sun and partial shade. They’ll grow up to 36 inches, and they also make excellent cut flowers.Â
Why we love it: They are one of the earliest blooming lilies out there. The show begins as soon as the daffodils and tulips fade, and they bloom for weeks.
Turk’s Cap Lily
Lilium martagon, Zones 3 to 8
This European native adds exotic flair to the perennial garden when it blooms in early summer. Turk’s Cap Lilies can be slow to establish, but be patient. When mature, the vigorous plants will throw up clumps of 4-foot stems that can be topped with as many as 50 fragrant flowers!
Why we love it: Gardeners adore this striking lily, but so do the swallowtail butterflies. Support these native pollinators by tucking a few bulbs in the perennial border.
Magic Star Double Oriental Lily
Lilium ‘Magic Star,’ Zones 3 to 8
Double Oriental lilies are among the most flamboyant of the summer bulbs with layers upon layers of ruffled petals in a range of colors. The enormous flowers of Magic Star are particularly dazzling with pink petals striped in red, edged in white and dotted with crimson freckles.Â
Why we love it: Did we mention it’s super fragrant? And the lack of pollen means the blooms are very long lasting, especially as cut flowers.
Regale Trumpet Lily
Lilium regale, Zones 4 to 8
Regale is a mid- to late-summer showstopper with massive, deeply perfumed flowers. Established plants can grow very tall (up to 8 feet) but heights of 3 to 5 feet are more common. Feed annually with compost, and water in dry spells if you want to encourage colossal-sized plants.Â
Why we love it: Regale’s enormous, trumpet-shaped blooms are simply spectacular. The white flowers will grow 8- to 10-inches long, and have pink-tinged outer petals and golden throats.
Tigermoon Lily
Lilium ‘Tigermoon’ Zones 3 to 8
Originally named Yellow Tiger, Tigermoon lily is a treat. Giant white flowers have yellow centers and maroon speckles. The plants reach 40 inches tall and flower in mid to late summer. The blossoms make long-lasting and exceptionally fragrant cut flowers.Â
Why we love it:Â These bulbs will tolerate some shade and heavy clay soils.Â
Stargazer Oriental Lily
Lilium ‘Stargazer,’ Zones 4 to 8
Stargazer was introduced almost 40 years ago, and it still remains one of the most popular lilies in cultivation. Why? Just look to the flowers, which are a breathtaking blend of crimson, pink and white, with dozens of bright red freckles spilling across the petals. They’re extremely fragrant and borne on sturdy plants.
Why we love it: Stargazer is an easy lily for beginners with tremendous payback—weeks of glorious color and dizzying scent.Â
Yelloween Orienpet Lily
Lilium ‘Yelloween,’ zones 4 to 8
This lily was developed in the Netherlands to be a superb cut flower, even in cooler temperatures. It definitely accomplishes this task. Once it’s established, this plant can reach heights of 8 feet, and you could easily get 10 to 15 blooms per stem.Â
Why we love it: Yelloween blooms are like pure sunshine. It’s one of the most striking lilies available with bright yellow petals, which will brighten up any backyard space.
Psst! If you need a reliable bloomer for sunny borders, you can also grow the Stella D’Oro Daylily.
Silk Road Orienpet Lily
Lilium ‘Silk Road,’ Zones 4 to 8
Orienpet lilies are a cross between oriental and trumpet types, offering the best of both worlds. They bear very large, heavily scented flowers, are long-blooming and form hardy, vigorous plants. Silk Road is an outstanding selection with white blossoms and cherry red throats on plants 4 to 6 feet tall.Â
Why we love it: Silk Road seduces with its powerful aroma and stunning color combination. Plus, the stalks are bursting with large flowers.
Lollypop Asiatic Lily
Lilium ‘Lollypop,’ Zones 3 to 8
The white and cherry-pink blooms of Lollypop are as sweet as candy. The stocky plants grow 2 to 3 feet tall and begin blooming in early summer. Tuck them among sun-loving perennials or grow them in large tubs on a sunny deck or patio.Â
Why we love it: It’s hard to beat Lollypop’s jolt of color! Plus, these beautiful lily flowers are very easy to grow and thrive with minimal fussing.
Casa Blanca Oriental Lily
Lilium ‘Casa Blanca,’ Zones 3 to 8
For sheer wow factor, you can’t beat Casa Blanca, an Oriental lily that grows up to 4 feet and bears massive white, star-shaped flowers. It’s captivating in the sunshine, but also a favorite in moonlight gardens where the pale blooms seem to glow. It grows well in most garden soils, but requires full sun in order to produce its heavenly scented flowers.
Why we love it: Casablanca is extremely popular among gardeners who appreciate its exceptional vigor, pure white blooms and intoxicating fragrance. It also makes an excellent cut flower.Â
Originally Published: January 21, 2021
