Springtime, time for renewal

Well, just when I was giving up on the Ribes sanguineum v. sanguineum 'King Edward VII' red flowering currant, look at it now!

We planted it a little over a year ago.

There were a few green leaves on it at first, but then the summer heat dried it up, in spite of my careful watering efforts.

It basically was a 2 1/2 inch high stick for a long time.

Other gardeners that I spoke with had no luck with their ribes plants, either.

I felt that if it still remained a stick after the winter rains, I would pull it out of the native patch.

And lo and behold, last weekend I discovered this.

It is now full of healthy leaves, and produced a second, smaller, leafy branch.

As you can see, compared to the California poppy plants around it, the plant is still fairly small.

Hopefully it will do well and grow.

It is a California native, and could grow as high as five to seven feet tall, producing pink flowers that produce nectar for butterflies, bees and birds.

Meanwhile, on the patio, the Rudbeckia hirta‘Chim Chiminee’ that I planted in a medium sized pot last year, is producing new growth.

Look at the fuzzy light green leaves growing around the stems of the larger leaves from last autumn.

This is another plant that attracts bees and butterflies.