The Best Flowers To Plant In April

April can be both an exciting and challenging month in the garden. On the one hand, you're likely able to enjoy blooms from your fall-planted bulbs and corms. But on the other hand, it may still be too cold to safely plant warm-weather flowers outside. If you live in a region where April temperatures are consistently above freezing, and your soil has warmed to at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit, then by all means you can start planting sunflowers and calendula. But if you live in one of the many parts of the United States where the last frost date doesn't arrive until late April or May, don't let a few nice days trick you into planting out your frost-intolerant blooms too early. Luckily, there is a range of cool-weather flowers that are perfect for planting in April in much of the United States. These include love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena), pansies (Viola x wittrockiana), and sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus).

Love-in-a-mist is a gorgeous self-seeding flower that can easily fill your garden with colorful blooms. It is also quite cold-tolerant. You can scatter your love-in-a-mist seeds as soon as your soil is thawed enough to be workable, and the hardy annual should thrive in the cool spring weather as long as you plant it in a full sun location. They also appreciate well-draining soil, so consider amending with compost if necessary. In addition to their unique and frothy blooms, love-in-a-mist plants also form elegant seed pods and will happily reseed themselves if you let them.  

Pansies are cool-season champions. Their charming little "faces" easily light up even chilly and dreary spring days. A hardy annual, they can be sown into your garden as soon as you're able to work the soil, often about a month before your last frost date. They are also usually available at garden centers as seedlings in spring if you prefer not to grow your pansies from seed. In addition to moist soil, they also enjoy full or part-sun locations.

Another great flower to plant in April is the sweet pea. Not only are their blooms beautiful, but they also smell amazing. Once again, you can get them into the ground as soon as your soil is workable. Consider soaking the seeds for around a day first, though, as this will help improve germination. Unlike pansies and love-in-a-mist, many sweet peas are vining plants and will require a trellis or other structure to climb. Luckily, there are many ways to whip up a garden trellis on a budget. Just make sure you plant them away from edible peas to avoid any confusion, since sweet peas are toxic. In addition to something to climb, your sweet peas also need a spot where their vines can be in full sun, while their roots remain cool. Using mulch should help your sweet peas and other cool-season flowers last a bit longer as summer heat starts to set in.