A Currant Affair

Decidedly underused, the genus Ribes is available in a dizzying number of ornamental species and cultivars for the West Coast gardener. My romance with the West’s native currants and gooseberries, both in the genus Ribes, began in 2005, but I would not call it love at first sight. It would be better described as a love that grew over time.

I purchased plants of pink flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum) and evergreen currant (R. viburnifolium), two of the better-known, more widely available species, in one-gallon containers at a Merritt College (Oakland) plant sale. They were a little underwhelming, as so many California native plants are in nursery containers, but I had heard and read good things about them, and hoped that the rewards would be plentiful once they settled in. I knew that my garden had the ideal conditions to nourish them. But would these new additions to my humble patch of landscape prove needy? Demanding? Trustworthy?

I decided to give them a chance and am happy that I did. They continue to thrive in my garden today. Since those inaugural plantings, I’ve introduced a few more into my Oakland garden. I obtained some, such as R. sanguineum v...