At the south entrance to the Buck Lake Native Plant Garden, the path is flanked on both sides by cultivars of beautiful Ribes sanguineum. Actually, cultivars of this beautiful shrub can have pink, red or white flowers. One of the first plants to bloom in the garden in early spring, red-flowering currant dazzles with its racemes of flowers that attract hummingbirds. This is a medium-size, deciduous shrub, growing 8'-10' tall and 6'-8' wide. As the flowers fade, the maple-like new leaves unfurl. In late summer it produces small blue-black berries, another important food source for birds. Ribes sanguineum ends it's show in the fall with colorful yellow and orange leaves.

This shrub likes dry, sunny to partially shady sites and is not hampered by drought. Both the species and cultivars make beautiful additions to the home garden. In the wild, you will find it growing from Northern California to Southern British Columbia, west of the mountains.

Native American tribes harvested and ate the berries fresh, but they were not a popular food source and were not dried for later use.

See the links below for more information on red-flowering currant.