Can I eat hawthorn leaves?

Yes — the young leaves in April are mild and nutty, traditionally called bread and cheese. Pick before the flowers open.

Why does blossom matter so much?

A fortnight of blossom decides the whole year's fruit. Cold, wet weather keeps pollinators grounded and a late frost kills open flowers outright.

What's in season in April in the southern hemisphere?

Olives, chestnuts, quince, late apples and the best of the wild mushroom season.

Season guide

What's in season in April, around the world

April. Blossom and asparagus in the north; olives, chestnuts and the first cold in the south.

April at a glance

Climate band	Ripe now	Being foraged	Going in the ground
Northern temperate40–60°N	Asparagus, rhubarb, spring greens, radishes	Wild garlic flowers, hawthorn leaf, morels, sea beet	Beetroot, salads, courgettes indoors
Mediterranean & warm temperate30–40°N/S	Strawberries, broad beans, peas, artichokes	Wild asparagus, capers	Melons, peppers, aubergines
Southern temperate30–50°S	Olives, chestnuts, quince, late apples	Porcini, pine mushrooms, rosehips	Broad beans, onions, garlic
Tropical & subtropical0–25°N/S	Mango, durian, lychee	Wild honey, palm fruits	Rice before the rains

In the north

Blossom. Orchards from Normandy to the Hudson Valley go over in a fortnight, and the whole year's fruit is decided by whether the bees fly and the frost holds off.

Asparagus opens the northern eating year properly, and in the hedgerow the young hawthorn leaf — bread and cheese, as children used to call it — is worth a handful in a salad. Wild garlic flowers now, and the flowers are better than the leaves for scattering.

In the ground: beetroot, salads and radishes outside; courgettes, squash and French beans started under glass for planting out after the last frost.

What's in season in Ireland in April

In the south

The first cold. Olives are being harvested and pressed across the southern Mediterranean-climate regions, chestnuts are down, and quince and late apples are coming in.

Mushroom season is at its best in the southern temperate band — porcini in Chile and Argentina, pine mushrooms in New Zealand plantations. Broad beans, onions and garlic go in for the winter.

Marked days

Hanami
Japan
Eating and drinking under the cherry blossom — an eight-hundred-year-old habit, and still the most-kept food custom in the country.
Songkran
Thailand, mid-April
The Thai new year, at the hottest point of the year before the rains break.
Easter
Across the Christian world
Lamb, eggs and first-green foods — a spring festival with a liturgy attached.

From the community

No entries for April yet — yours would be the first.

Tell us what's ripe where you are, and what your place does with it.

Find somewhere near you

3 places on the map are in season in April.

Blue Ridge Wild Pawpaw Trail
Pawpaws & ramps · Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Yamanashi Peach Terraces
White peaches · Fuefuki, Yamanashi, Japan
Batlow Mountain Apples
Pink Lady apples · Batlow, New South Wales, Australia

Open the map

This month in the Harvest Club

April's Gathering is Blossom — the magic of pollination, and why it matters.

Join the club →

Questions

Can I eat hawthorn leaves?: Yes — the young leaves in April are mild and nutty, traditionally called bread and cheese. Pick before the flowers open.
Why does blossom matter so much?: A fortnight of blossom decides the whole year's fruit. Cold, wet weather keeps pollinators grounded and a late frost kills open flowers outright.
What's in season in April in the southern hemisphere?: Olives, chestnuts, quince, late apples and the best of the wild mushroom season.