Hunting for Color!

Flowering Current - probably ten-feet tall~

 After days of pouring rain, pounding wind storms & colder temperatures - when that golden globe in the sky, peeked through for about 5 seconds this morning...  I ran for the camera!  I'd just told Butch over the weekend that if I didn't get a photo soon, the blooms would be either faded from the rain or blown off by the wind!

Ribes sanguineum glutinosum,

 We planted these currents early on in the rehabilitation of Dogwood Gulch - from an overgrown creek gully full of blackberry - to a more landscaped look.  Eventually we put a gravel path down the near side, with the help of Pat's son Jesse.  Jesse did a lot of work for us in his early teen years!

Ribes Sanguineum - King Edward VII

 Part of the wonder of the flowering currants - is that they have edible berries, they draw hummingbirds the natural way & the berries make yummy jam!  As a Washington Native Plant you're helping our state environment by planting these!  I've found them along side logging roads & you'll see them at Victoria right now.

Looking west toward the Cottage & Entry~

 The dogwoods - I've been cutting down & will eventually Go!  Something I didn't consider when we planted the Emerald Greens on our south property line - along the road, was the change in light.  We certainly love the privacy & noise reduction that the trees provide - but now the dogwoods get so stringy, branches dropping & rooting everywhere they can - including in the creek.  No fun keeping the creek clear of them :-(  By the time I took this photo - the sun had again disappeared & drizzle was coming down.

Nika~ Coming 4!

 The currant behind Nika in the photo above has died off.  It was very stressed last summer, I kept it watered, but no luck.  Now, I'm going to cut it down & see if it will come back from the roots.  This hill gets very dry with a south exposure & without the rich soils we enjoy everywhere else.

Blooming ground cover~

I forget what this blooming ground cover is, it hasn't spread as much as I'd hoped, but I'll take what I can get :-)  Now, the weeds are popping up everywhere!  Controlling them is so much work & never-ending.  Can you tell?  I'm tired of rain, tired of this darn time change too!  Why on earth it doesn't get nixed is beyond me!