Red currant

Red Currant is the overachiever that refuses to pick just one job description. This deciduous shrub provides beautiful spring flowers, edible summer berries, gorgeous fall color, and interesting winter structure – basically everything you could want from a landscape plant, plus the bonus of actually feeding you. It's basically the Swiss Army knife of garden shrubs, but tastier.

The spring flower show kicks things off with drooping clusters of small, greenish-white flowers that might not win any beauty contests individually but create a lovely overall effect when the entire shrub is covered. But the real excitement builds through summer as those flowers transform into bright red, translucent berries that look like tiny ruby jewels hanging from every branch.

The berries aren't just for show – they're completely edible and make incredible jams, jellies, and sauces. They're quite tart when eaten fresh, but cooking brings out a complex flavor that's both sweet and tangy. It's like having your own personal gourmet ingredient supplier growing in your backyard.

What makes Red Currant truly valuable is its adaptability and low maintenance requirements. It's happy in sun or partial shade, tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, and requires minimal care once established. The fall foliage turns lovely shades of yellow and orange, and even the bare winter branches have an attractive architecture. You'll find this edible ornamental adding four-season interest and harvest potential to our median plantings, proving that functional can also be beautiful.