Ribes

Evergreen or deciduous shrubs, from across the Northern Hemisphere and into South America. Around 150 species, including the kitchen garden staples of flowering currants, (R. nigrum, R. rubrum) and gooseberries (R. uva-crispa). Many excellent ornamental ribes are worth growing, as they often have showy early spring flowers, lobed leaves and tolerate a wide range of growing conditions. Best pruned soon after flowering. Ribes sanguineum and forms are excellent shrubs for the garden. R. speciosum, with its fuchsia-like flowers can make a spectacular wall-trained shrub. R. laurifolium makes a good woodlander, often flowering in January. R. x gordonianum produces flowers of an unusual intense red-yellow.