Remember those buds waiting in the rain for the sun to come out? Well, the sun shone for four wonderful days (including a weekend) and my Ribes x gordonianum is now in flower. Red buds gave way to star shaped yellow-orange blooms. I am a sucker for this two toned effect. The flowers from a distance are warm and peachy. Our own native Ribes sanguineum is one of the parents, but after doing a little research online I found the other parent listed as R. odoratum and R. petraeum. I'll have to do some more digging; either way it is a beautiful plant.
Winter currants are in bloom all over. Ribes sanguineum is covered in clusters ranging from light to dark lipstick pink. There is also a white one called 'Icicle' which is lovely. I think it looks great with many of the blue flowered spring bloomers like Brunnera and Pulmonaria planted underneath. Currants are a favorite with both the resident Anna and the visiting Rufous hummingbirds. They dart in and out of the blooms with full springtime abandon.
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