April in the garden.

What to plant in April

• Courgette Cucurbita pepo · vegetable · start indoors · zones 1 to 9

  Sow the flat seeds on their edge so water runs off rather than sitting on them. Two plants is plenty for most households, and three is usually a mistake.

• Sunflower Helianthus annuus · flower · sow direct · zones 3 to 11

  Sow straight into warm ground where the plants will stand, because sunflowers hate root disturbance. Protect the seedlings from slugs for the first fortnight and they are away.

• Spinach Spinacia oleracea · vegetable · sow direct · zones 2 to 9

  Spinach runs to seed the moment it gets hot and dry, so sow early and keep it watered. A little afternoon shade buys you several extra weeks of picking.

• Zinnia Zinnia elegans · flower · start indoors · zones 1 to 10

  Zinnias want warmth and hate cold wet compost, so start them somewhere heated. Cut the first flower early and low, and the plant will branch and give you dozens more.

• Cup and Saucer Vine Cobaea scandens · climber · start indoors · zones 1 to 9

  Sow the flat seeds on edge and expect them to be slow. Once away it climbs five meters in a season and turns creamy bells to deep purple as they age.

• Blackcurrant Ribes nigrum · shrub · plant out · zones 3 to 8

  Plant it deep, with the base of the stems a good five centimeters under the soil, to encourage new shoots from the bottom. The fruit only comes on young wood.

• Taro Colocasia esculenta · vegetable · plant bulbs · zones 9 to 13

  Taro wants the wettest corner you have, and it will grow happily in standing water. Plant the corms as the rains start and leave them for six months or more.

• Dwarf banana Musa acuminata · fruit · plant out · zones 9 to 13

  Plant a sucker with a good chunk of corm attached, somewhere sheltered from wind. Bananas are thirsty and hungry, so feed and water them hard through the growing season.

• Red Amaranth Amaranthus tricolor · vegetable · sow direct · zones 8 to 13

  One of the few leafy greens that thrives in real heat. Scatter the tiny seed on the surface, tamp it down and start picking the young leaves in about a month.

• Potato Solanum tuberosum · vegetable · plant bulbs · zones 3 to 9

  Stand the seed tubers in a tray somewhere cool and bright for a few weeks first and let them sprout. Plant them a spade deep and earth up the stems as they grow.

In flower in April

• Aeonium

  Late winter to spring · yellow, white

• African violet Saintpaulia ionantha

  Year round with proper care · purple, pink, white, blue

• African Violet Saintpaulia ionantha

  Year-round with good care · Pink, Purple, White, Blue, Red, Bicolor

• Aloe Vera Aloe vera

  Late winter to spring · yellow, orange

• Anthurium

  Year round in ideal conditions · red, pink, white

• Bermuda buttercup Oxalis pes-caprae

  Late winter to mid spring · yellow

• Bigleaf Maple Acer macrophyllum

  Early to mid spring · yellow, green

• Box elder Acer negundo

  Early spring · yellow, green

• Boxwood Buxus

  Early to mid spring · yellow, green

• Busy Lizzie Impatiens walleriana

  Spring to fall · Pink, Red, White, Purple, Orange, Bicolor

• Camellia

  Late winter to spring · Red, Pink, White, Variegated

• Cherry tree Prunus avium

  Mid spring · white

• Coconut Palm Cocos nucifera

  Year-round in tropical climates · yellow, white

• Cottonwood Populus

  Early spring · green, red

• Crown of Thorns Euphorbia milii

  Year round · red, pink, yellow, white

• Cupuacu Theobroma grandiflorum

  Late winter to early spring · white, pinkish

• Daffodil Narcissus

  Early to mid spring · yellow, white, orange, pink

• Dandelion Taraxacum officinale

  Early spring to late autumn · yellow

• Eastern Redbud Cercis canadensis

  Early to mid spring · pink, purple, magenta

• Fleabane Erigeron karvinskianus

  Spring through fall · white, pink, blush

• Grape Hyacinth Muscari armeniacum

  Early to mid spring · blue, purple

• Guzmania

  Late winter to spring · White

• Hepatica Hepatica nobilis

  Early to mid spring · blue, white, pink, purple

• Horned Violet Viola cornuta

  Spring to early summer · purple, blue, yellow, white

• Japanese Maple Acer palmatum

  Mid spring · red, purple, yellow

• Kaffir Lily Clivia miniata

  Late winter to spring · orange, yellow, red

• Lemon Citrus limon

  Spring to early summer · white

• Oak Quercus

  Early to mid spring · yellow, green

• Orange Jessamine Murraya paniculata

  Intermittent throughout the year · white

• Peach tree Prunus persica

  Early to mid spring · pink, white

• Pear Pyrus

  Early to mid spring · white

• Purple Pixie Loropetalum Loropetalum chinense

  Early to mid spring · pink

• Rat's Tail Cactus Aporocactus flagelliformis

  Spring to early summer · pink, magenta

• Red Maple Acer rubrum

  Early spring · red

• Rhipsalis

  Late winter to spring · white, yellow, pink

• Rosemary Salvia rosmarinus

  Spring to fall · Blue, Purple, White, Pink

• Saucer Magnolia Magnolia × soulangeana

  Early to mid spring · pink, white, purple

• Sweet box Sarcococca confusa

  Mid winter to early spring · white

• Thimble Cactus Mammillaria gracilis subsp. fragilis

  Late winter to spring · cream, yellow

• Thorny Aloe Aloe aculeata

  Late winter to spring · Orange, Red, Yellow

• Trout Lily Erythronium americanum

  Early to mid spring · yellow

• Weeping Cherry Prunus subg. Cerasus

  Early to mid-spring · White, Pink

• Willow Salix

  Early to mid spring · yellow, green, white

• Anise-scented fern Clausena anisata

  Spring to summer · white, cream

• Arizona cypress Cupressus arizonica

  Late winter to early spring · yellow, brown

• Autumn sage Salvia greggii

  Spring to fall · red, pink, white, purple

• Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis

  Mid to late spring · yellow

• Bear Paw Dactylopsis digitata

  Late winter to early spring · white, yellow

• Begonia

  Spring to autumn · pink, red, white, yellow

• Blackhaw Viburnum Viburnum prunifolium

  Mid to late spring · white

• Creeping Oxalis Oxalis corniculata

  Spring to autumn · yellow

• Doronicum Doronicum orientale

  Mid to late spring · yellow

• Dragon's Blood Tree Dracaena cinnabari

  Late winter to early spring · white, greenish

• Flowering Crabapple Malus × domestica

  Mid spring · white, pink, red

• Fukien Tea Carmona retusa

  Throughout the year in warm conditions · white

• Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba

  Mid spring · green

• Hornbeam Carpinus betulus

  Mid to late spring · green, yellow

• Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum

  Mid to late spring · green, purple, brown

• Japanese Cedar Cryptomeria japonica

  Late winter to early spring · yellow, brown

• Jasmine Jasminum sambac

  Spring to autumn · white

• London planetree Platanus × acerifolia

  Mid spring · yellow, red

• Natal Plum Carissa macrocarpa

  Spring to summer · white

• Passion Fruit Passiflora edulis

  Spring to summer · white, purple

• Peace Lily Spathiphyllum wallisii

  Spring to early summer · white

• Pencil flower Acalypha sp.

  Spring to autumn · red, pink, cream

• Pork and Beans Sedum rubrotinctum

  Late winter to spring · yellow

• Quince Cydonia oblonga

  Mid to late spring · white, pink

• Quiver Tree Aloidendron dichotomum

  Mid to late winter · yellow

• Shamrock Oxalis

  Spring to summer · white, pink

• Spider Plant Chlorophytum comosum var. variegatum

  Spring to summer · white

• String of Buttons Crassula perforata

  Late winter to spring · white, yellow

• Swedish ivy Plectranthus australis

  Late winter to spring · white, lavender

• Sweet Alyssum Lobularia maritima

  Spring through autumn · white, pink, purple

• Vriesea

  Spring to summer · red, yellow, orange

• Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata

  Early spring · yellow, brown

• Wisteria

  Mid to late spring · purple, blue, white

In fruit in April

• Coconut Palm Cocos nucifera

  Year-round · culinary fruit

• Cupuacu Theobroma grandiflorum

  Late winter to spring

April south of the equator

The same month, six months on in the seasons: what to plant in April in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the southern half of South America.

• Siberian Squill Scilla siberica · bulb · plant bulbs · zones 1 to 8

  About the hardiest bulb you can buy, and it naturalizes into a blue sheet under trees. Plant it shallow and thickly, and then leave it completely alone.

• Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa · shrub · plant out · zones 1 to 8

  Survives brutal winters, wet ground and neglect, and still gives you fruit and scarlet autumn leaves. Plant it now while the soil holds a little warmth.

• Winter Wheat Triticum aestivum · grass · sow direct · zones 1 to 9

  Sown over a bare bed it holds the soil together through the wettest months. Dig it in during spring and it feeds the ground with everything it took up.

• Hyacinth Hyacinthus orientalis · bulb · plant bulbs · zones 4 to 9

  Plant them outdoors now, or pot prepared bulbs and keep them in the cold dark for ten weeks. Wear gloves, because the papery skins irritate a lot of people.

• Horseradish Armoracia rusticana · vegetable · plant out · zones 3 to 9

  Plant a root cutting at an angle in a spot you are happy to give up permanently. It spreads from every fragment left behind, so a sunken container is a wise idea.

• Quince Cydonia oblonga · tree · plant out · zones 5 to 9

  A small tree with blossom in spring and heavily scented fruit in autumn. Plant it now while dormant, somewhere sheltered, and it needs almost no pruning.

• Chickpea Cicer arietinum · vegetable · sow direct · zones 8 to 13

  Sow into cooling soil for a crop that finishes before the real heat. It is drought hardy once established, and it fixes nitrogen for whatever follows it.

• Tamarind Tamarindus indica · tree · plant out · zones 10 to 13

  A long lived shade tree that copes with drought and poor soil once it is up. Plant it where it can spread, because a mature tree covers a lot of ground.

• Aloe Vera Aloe vera · herb · plant out · zones 9 to 13

  Plant offsets into gritty soil and then water it far less than feels right. It stores everything it needs in the leaves, and wet roots are the only thing that kills it.

Other months

• January
• February
• March
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December