Oh, the Red Flowering Currant! It is one of my favorites.

THE FLOWER

Scientifically known as Ribes sanguineum, this deciduous shrub has lovely pink flowers in the spring. At our house they show up in April.

The small, tubular flowers are in nodding clusters. They are so lovely, the plant is not only grown in the wild, but also in ornamental landscapes.

Hummingbirds and butterflies visit the flowers as a nectar source.

GETTING READY TO BLOOM

IN ALL ITS GLORY
This particular grouping grows right outside our garden fence.

THE FRUIT

In summer, the shrub has blue-black berries. The berries are edible, but not tasty to most people. Birds, however, love them.

THE STEM

The stems are thin and thornless.

THE LEAVES

The rounded leaves are small, being no bigger than about 3 inches. They have an alternate leaf arrangement.

WHERE IT GROWS

The Red Flowering Currant is native to the Pacific Northwest. It can be found in the western parts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California.

It prefers sun to partial shade.

Take a moment to enjoy the Wonderful World of Plants!

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Finally we’re getting some good color. The flowers seem about a month behind compared to last year. That’s ok, I’ll take the color now.

LEOPARD’S BANE
I love the sunny yellow of this flower. It’s always such a treat seeing this summer-feeling flower in spring.

ENGLISH DAISIES

UNKNOWN

CAMELLIA & BLEEDING HEART

LEFT: VARIEGATED VINCA MAJOR
RIGHT: HEATHER

VINCA MINOR

‘HEAVENLY BLUE’ LITHODORA

BLACK LACE ELDERBERRY, FLAMING SILVER PIERIS, & MEDITERRANEAN PINK HEATH
The Elderberry & Pieris aren’t blooming, but I love their color.

BARBERRY

LEFT: JAPANESE ROSE
RIGHT: ELDERBERRY

LILAC

AJUGA

FLOWERING CHERRY TREE

CREEPING PHLOX and chicks we recently hatched.
The creeping phlox in spring along this rock wall is one of my all time favorite blooms at our house.

To enjoy more Bloom Day posts check out May Dreams Garden

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Indian Plum, also known as Oso Berry, is part of the rose family. Scientifically it’s known as Oemleria cerasiformis.

I am highlighting this plant because it is always a joy to see its flowers. They are one of the earliest shrubs around our house to bloom. Surely a sign that the loomy, gloomy winter is behind us. However, this year it’s still raining… a lot.

THE FLOWER

Usually I notice the flowers sometime in March. They are lovely, even though the leaves are just barely opening.

The Indian Plum produces many suckers, which can create a nice place for birds to nest and critters to hide.

This deciduous shrub is found in the far western part of the Pacific Northwest, from southern British Columbia to Northern California. It grows in moist wooded areas.

Clusters of flowers dangle from the stem. They are a great nectar source for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.

The Indian Plum is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are not on the same plant. Because of this, they need insects to aid in propagation.

THE FRUIT

The fruit emerges where the flowers once were. They change from an orange color, to pinkish, to a dark bluish black.

The fruit is edible, but is bitter.

Another beautiful plant. Another reason I love living where we do.

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Nature has a beautiful way of letting me know spring has arrived. The trilliums are the first to bloom and the Violet-green Swallows are the first migrating birds to arrive.

They usually show up with about 30 of their friends and spend their days darting around catching insects.

IDENTIFICATION

TOP OF HEAD: dark green, colored slightly with bronze
CHEEKS: Males are white. Females and juveniles have a grayish bronze tint to their cheeks.
THROAT: white
BELLY: white
WINGS: mix of dark grays, blues and greens
TAIL: short, mix of dark grays, blues and greens
BACK: dark green, colored slightly with bronze
RUMP: violet, with white saddlebags
BILL: tiny, dark
EYE: black

MALE:

FEMALE:

Back & Underside:

Notice the short tail and white saddlebags:

HABITAT

The Violet-green Swallow is a western North American bird, preferring woodland areas. They tend to show up around our house late March and stay until mid summer. When they are not here, they are in the Southern United States and Mexico.

Each year they make nests in bird houses we have placed in our Bird Village. I have also seen them in a tall tree snag not far from the Bird Village.

FEEDING

Violet-green Swallows spend much of their time swooping through the sky catching insects.

FRIENDS & FAMILY

FAMILY: Swallows
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tachycineta thalassina

Primarily we have Violet-green Swallows visit us. But, usually there is a Tree Swallow or two with them.

BEHAVIOR

I am not sure if they are by nature a feisty bird, but I often notice quarrels among them.

They don’t tend to play nice with the Western Bluebirds that also want to make a temporary home in one of our bird houses.

PHOTO GALLERY

Happy Birding!

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