As the UK continues to bask in the warm weather, it’s a perfect opportunity to get outside and add some colour to your garden in time for the official arrival of summer in a few months.

April is an ideal time to add more seeds to your garden. The longer days allow plants to get more sunlight needed to grow, and the warmer soil makes for a preferable environment for seedlings to take root. But if you’re not sure where to start, garden designer @gardening.with.ish has shared three flowers that “you can sow this April directly outside.”

In a video posted on TikTok, the garden designer said that planting these “showstopper pieces” is a “surefire way to get colour” in your garden in time for summer. The seeds cost the gardening pro just £7 for three packets.

Also known as granny's bonnet, @gardening.with.ish starts with aquilegia, which produces pretty flowers in shades of purple, yellow, and white once in full bloom. An attractive plant to bumblebees, they can reach up to 60 to 80cm tall and are happy in the sun.

They’re “super easy” to plant and can be placed directly in the ground or in pots, depending on what you have available. The Royal Horticultural Society also advises that these plants aren’t fussy so long as the soil is fertile and not waterlogged or dried out.

They can be “regularly deadheaded too” to continue growing over the summer. Deadheading refers to the process of removing dead or fading flowers from the plant, encouraging further blooms.

Next up are dahlias, which come in hundreds of varieties. To choose one for your garden, @gardening.with.ish said to “pick a colour that works for you” and simply go from there. They can be planted in full sun in the ground, but require well-drained soil.

For a real showstopper, the garden designer opts for lilies, which can reach up to three feet tall and make great additions to borders. He added: “Plant about six inches deep, so they’ve got a good amount of space to anchor them in place.”

They require regular feeding and produce spectacular flowers, but cat owners should avoid them as they are highly toxic.

Buying his seeds from Morrisons, @gardening.with.ish shared that these three plants are a beginner-friendly and affordable way to “fill your borders for less than a tenner” this April.