Flowering currant

I've never been especially impressed with flowering currants. I've always thought if you going to grow a currant bush, you might as well grow one that will give you juicy currants.

Today while walking in the woods we saw a flowering currant bush. It is probably a garden escape because it was close to the perimeter, near the houses. I decided to pinch a couple of bits off it to see if I could get it to root. Having selected a couple of shoots, I stuffed them in the inside pocket of my coat, and we continued our walk. What a fragrance. I've never noticed it before when passing them in people's gardens. But they really do have quite a refreshing fragrance to them.

 

I have a lot of them in my garden courtesy of the previous owner. I don't love them but they are all well established in the hedge so they have stayed. Personally I find the fragrance a bit like cat wee but you have to get close to smell it on mine! They are a reliable flower-er though so I keep them for a bit of early colour.