I never get tired of seeing hummingbirds in the garden. This time of year, reliable nectar sources are native currant and gooseberry flowers in the genus Ribes. The plants start blooming during the rainy season, the flowers can last up to a couple months, and while they are in bloom the shrubs are showstoppers. At least one of these can fit into most landscapes.
The ones described here provide berries for birds after the flowers have faded and, though they lose their leaves starting in summer or fall, also provide nesting and cover for birds. Most of these shrubs need good drainage, which can be provided by planting on a mound at least a foot high.
The reddest flowers adorn fuchsia-flowered gooseberry shrubs. Most of the year, the ferociously spiny stems arching up to 6 feet high provide excellent cover for birds. With winter rains the glossy medium-green leaves emerge, followed by stunning inch-long ruby-red pendant blossoms with the tubular form that hummingbirds favor. Even when it's only a foot or two high, this shrub flowers profusely. Plant this drought-tolerant beauty in part shade or filtered shade, and keep it away from paths. In a small garden, you can train the branches against a wall, or use the shrub as a barrier along a fence.
Equally stunning are the vase-shaped red-flowering currants, which are wonderful planted just outside a window where you can admire the flowers in the middle of the rainy season. Most of the cultivars grow about 6 feet high, and the flower color ranges from bright red ('King Edward VII') to deep pink ('Barrie Coate') to white ('White Icicle'). Held in thick clusters that hang down from the stems and collect just enough raindrops to create a bejeweled effect, the flowers often cover the whole shrub. The related pink-flowering currant has one cultivar ('Spring Showers') whose flower clusters are up to 8 inches long. The small lobed leaves have a lovely resinous fragrance when rubbed. To keep the leaves longer, plant in part shade and water occasionally.
For a slightly sunnier or drier location, try chaparral currant. Its form is more rounded than the red-flowering currants, its resinous leaves thicker and rougher, and it can start blooming as early as December. The cultivar 'Montara Rose' has dark pink flowers and grows up to 6 feet high. The 8-foot 'Dancing Tassels' features light pink flower clusters up to a foot long. Both have interesting shredding bark that develops more character with age.
If you're from the east or midwest and miss the exuberant yellow of forsythia in early spring, plant golden currant. Native to streambanks, golden currant is a rangier shrub than its pink and red cousins. In the garden, it can be espaliered against a sunny wall where its golden flowers, darkening with age, will stand out. Though it grows well in part shade, this shrub produces more flowers in full sun. Be prepared to cut it back regularly and dig up suckers in a smaller garden. Given room to spread, golden currant can form thickets over 6 feet high, providing good habitat.
You can't go far wrong if you keep birds in mind when you are planning your garden.
© 2010 Tanya Kucak