April marks the long-awaited return of the garden season, with signs of life popping up everywhere you look. After months of winter’s grip, the landscape begins to wake with fresh color, budding branches, and that unmistakable feeling of a new beginning. It’s a season full of possibility, where even the smallest signs of growth feel exciting. This month’s featured plants capture that early spring energy, bringing color, texture, and life back into your outdoor space.
Red Twig Dogwood is stealing the show right now with its striking red stems, offering a bold pop of color before everything else fully leafs out. Black Forest Cake Coral Bell adds rich, moody foliage with deep burgundy tones that ground your garden while still feeling fresh for spring. Orange Sparkler Dianthus brings the fun, with bright, cheerful blooms that add an instant burst of color and a hint of fragrance to garden beds and borders. And the MN Strain Redbud is beginning to shine, with its stunning pink-purple blooms lining bare branches, creating that classic early spring “wow” moment.
These plants are the perfect way to kick off the 2026 season, blending early color with reliable structure and beauty. Be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming spring hours, as we plan to open later this month once our seasonal plant shipments begin arriving.
Red Twig Dogwood
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
An excellent red stem dogwood that provides beautiful color in winter. Porcelain-blue fruits. Shade tolerant. Very adaptable.
Species Specs
Height: 8-10’
Spread: 8-10’
Exposure: Full Sun
Foliage: Green (Red/purple in fall)
Zone: 4-7
Plant Care:
Red Twig Dogwood thrives in full sun for the brightest color but will tolerate partial shade, and it prefers consistently moist soil, making it a great fit for low areas or rain gardens. It’s adaptable to many soil types, including clay, though it does best in moist, slightly acidic conditions. For the most vibrant red stems, prune older growth in early spring to encourage fresh, colorful new shoots.
Black Forest Cake Coral Bell
Image source: Monrovia Nurseries
Description:
Deep purple, almost black foliage is topped with spikes of cherry-red flowers in late spring. Striking as an accent or massed in a woodland border or provides great color contrast in mixed containers. An exciting addition to the garden, no matter how you slice it. Herbaceous perennial.
Species Specs
Height: 6-12”
Spread: 12”
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Foliage: Black
Zone: 4-9
Plant Care:
Provide enriched, well-drained soil; take care not to bury crown when planting. Prefers part shade in hot summer areas. Water deeply, regularly in first growing season to establish root system; reduce frequency once established. Avoid excess winter moisture. Feed throughout growing season. Remove old, faded foliage in early spring.
Orange Sparkler Dianthus
Image source: Plant Haven International
Description:
A vigorous, clumping perennial. Highly scented double flowers with warm orange hues and sparkles of hot pink flecks are held above fine silvery-blue foliage on sturdy, upright stems. Starts blooming early in the summer and repeats into fall. The compact form is fabulous for containers or lining garden paths. Herbaceous perennial.
Species Specs
Height: 10-12”
Spread: 10-12”
Exposure: Full to Part Sun
Foliage: Silver-Blue
Zone: 4-9
Plant Care:
Provide enriched, neutral to slightly alkaline, loose, well-drained soil. Water deeply, regularly during the first growing season to establish an extensive root system. Once established, reduce frequency; tolerates mild drought. Apply fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. Remove spent blooms to encourage heavier blooming.
MN Strain Redbud
Image source: Bailey Nurseries
Description:
This handsome tree bears small pink flowers in spring before leaves appear. Later brown fruit pods form. This strain is grown from seed collected at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It does well in sun and part shade. Selected for hardiness by the University of Minnesota and introduced in1992.
Species Specs
Height: 20-30’
Spread: 20-25’
Exposure: Full Sun
Foliage: Deep Green (Brilliant Yellow in Fall)
Zone: 4-9
Plant Care:
This plant does best in full to partial sun with well-drained soil and needs consistent watering during its first 1–2 years to establish, after which it becomes quite drought-tolerant. It’s low-maintenance, requires minimal pruning beyond removing dead or damaged branches, and benefits from mulch to help retain moisture and regulate soil temperature. Adaptable to a variety of soil types, it works well as a specimen tree or accent near patios and garden borders.