5 Plants To Grow If You Like Lilies

The Liliaceae (or lily) family is home to some of the garden's most eye-catching blooms. They come in a wide variety of dazzling colors and often feature patterns that include spots and stripes. With their range of sizes, spanning from massive Oriental lilies to small and delicate toad lilies, there's likely a lily flower or two that's the perfect fit for almost every landscape. If you love the look of these beauties but want some variation, you'll be happy to know there are many other options, like flowering tobacco and trumpet vine, that share their distinctive shapes, colors, or patterns.

Whether you've struggled with insects or other problems that have limited your ability to grow lilies, or you just want even more beautiful and lily-like blooms to add to your beds, there are plenty of flowers to choose from. Plants such as foxgloves and even hostas can help fill your outdoor space (or the lily-shaped hole in your heart) with their similarly shaped blooms and striking colors.

Hostas are primarily grown for their lush foliage, but their stunning flowers deserve some attention, too. These blooms have an amazing scent and come in shades of white and purple. With their elegant trumpet-like shape, they are surprisingly reminiscent of Easter lilies (Lilium longiflorum). It's not just gardeners that love hosta flowers, though; they're also a huge hit with pollinators like bees, butterflies, and even hummingbirds.

Hardy in zones 3 through 9, these are impressively versatile. While they are best known for their love of low-light landscape areas, they can also thrive in part sun and dappled shade. They're relatively flexible about their growing media as well, though they do best in well-drained soil.  These beauties generally bloom enthusiastically in the summer months. If your hostas aren't flowering well, though, consider dividing them to keep them less crowded. A little more light and adequate spacing can encourage better blooms.

While petunias might not immediately bring lilies to mind, 'Night Sky' petunias are a great match for anyone drawn to the speckled petals of certain lily varieties. These gorgeous blooms boast a rich purple base color with white speckles front and center. They're perfect for adding unique hues and patterns to your sunny container gardens or hanging baskets. And with a height of only about 10 inches and a spread of a little over 2 feet, they're perfect as filler plants or low-growing annual ground cover for flower beds.

Make sure to grow your 'Night Sky' petunias in a well-draining growing medium. The impressively tough plants are ideal for keeping your container garden thriving all summer despite the heat. Just make sure to deadhead them regularly to get as many flowers as possible. With proper care, they should bloom all the way from spring until your first frost in autumn.

Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana x sanderi) is a perfect annual garden addition for anyone who loves the shape of lily flowers. With heights that can reach up to 4 feet and a wide range of colors to choose from, this plant has a lot to offer. Its gorgeous fragrance, similar to many lily varieties, is also a major bonus, as is its ability to attract hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies. 

Flowering tobacco can be easily grown from seed and either direct-sown or transplanted out after your last frost. It's a fast grower as well, so you should have plenty of blooms by summer or autumn. Make sure to grow these gorgeous flowers in a sunny spot with well-draining soil. Just be aware that the plants are quite poisonous, and some people even react to simply touching the leaves, so be sure to use gloves when caring for them.

If the trumpet shape of lilies appeals to you but you'd rather have your flowers climbing than standing in a bed, trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) fits the bill. This North American native is an aggressive grower, but as long as you have the space, you and your local pollinators can appreciate its blooms all summer long. And just like lilies, it can be found in a range of colors. You'll find cultivars with orange, red, and even yellow flowers.

Hardy in zones 4 through 10, these beauties thrive in full to part sun and can handle a range of soil types. They're also fairly drought- and deer-resistant. The trade-off for that toughness is its aggressive growth, so give it a sturdy support and plenty of room to spread. This is a heavy plant, after all, that can damage trees and buildings. It could be an ideal vine to grow on a chain-link fence.

Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) may be better known as a cottage garden classic, but its tall spikes of tubular, freckled flowers give it plenty in common with lilies. Many of these blooms are purple, pink, yellow, or white. It's generally considered fairly easy to care for foxglove plants, and since they self-seed readily, you'll likely only need to plant them once to have a garden full of stunning blooms for years to come. With many growing to around 3 to 5 feet tall, they also make a perfect backdrop for shorter plants in borders and garden beds.

Hardy in USDA zones 4 through 9, they thrive in full to part sun and can handle a range of soil types as long as the growing medium is well-draining and moist. Most foxgloves are biennials, so don't be discouraged if the first year is mostly about establishing foliage; flowers typically follow in the second year. Be sure to wear gloves and use caution when working with these beautiful plants, though, as they are deceptively toxic.