Forget the florida - it is a very tender species and difficult to grow even in my much milder climate. Personally, if you want a large flowered variety, I don't think you can go wrong with 'Henryi'. montana 'Grandiflora' is another excellent choice for an early, small flowering fragrant vine. Produces literally hundreds of flowers. But it gets big and may be too much for a small garden.

I also like "Mrs Bateman', primarily because I like the contrast of the white tepals with the dark purple stamens.

I have a clematis by name "Toki". It has very large white flowers. Sold by Monrovia. I bought it from a a local garden center. It has not started to bloom yet. When it blooms I will post pictures.

thank you, that Mrs Bateman is stunning! Toki looks great as well but it is not available here in Germany. Do share pictures when it blooms though!

I bought a Guernsey Cream at Costco this spring. It was in a huge container with bamboo trellis. It was so beautiful I could not pass it up, and I am not fond of white clematis. I reluctantly cut off all the blossoms and it is already climbing the trellis. I transferred it outdoors to climb over a large metal trellis. The flowers are exceptionally pretty.

My Guernsey Cream

Huldine is my favorite white clematis. It does get big, but it's SO worth it. The flowers are stunning. I have four of them growing in my garden - that's how much I love this clematis. I posted a pic years ago on the Helpmefind website under my username - bellarosa's garden - under the clematis part of the site.

thank you all for your suggestions and gorgeous pictures! Some very beautiful clematis out there!

What about a Gladys Picard, apologies for the poor photo, it does not do the flower justice

Here is my Duchess of Edinburg in officially zone 7--but more like 6b the last two winters. She has done well for me here although Brushwood says she can be "touchy to grow" I've had no issues. She seems to like my horse manure compost. She is also somewhat compact so might be a good choice for a smaller garden.

ooh lovely! I had no idea there were so many gorgeous white varieties! Keep them coming if you have them, they look absolutely stunning. I am so looking forward to planting a few of these in the fall!

Not a spectacular flower but 'Montana wilsonii' fills my garden with the scent of chocolate in the evenings.

My Gillian Blades is beautiful this year, been blooming for over 3 weeks, very large flowers, best year ever. Located in NE Iowa, zone 4.

Since this thread popped up again because someone liked my comment, I want to add a bit of a warning. In my area Japanese beetles are an issue, and I have stopped planting summer blooming white types because the beetles seem to prefer them and they typically end up chewed and tatttered. So my early bloomers like the white macropetala and the spring blooming type 2 plants like Guernsey Cream are fine, but the photo above is the best John Huxtable has ever looked since it blooms midsummer. It usually has quite a number of holes in each petal.

@aluvaboy, I know this thread is so old but I am just curious as to the performance of your "Toki".