There is no doubt that this is the showiest native shrub that we have at Leaning Oaks.  It is a  valuable shrub for it's early bloom and ability to attract both species of Hummingbirds.  Indeed the arrival of Rufous Hummingbirds seem to be timed to take advantage of Red-flowering Currant and Salmonberry blossoms.  In British Columbia, the commonest flower colour is red (pink is commoner further south)  but even here we have found plants in the wild that run from white, blush, various shades of pink to brick red and intense scarlet. Not surprisingly, this is a widely available native plant in nurseries.  My garden blog on this species is the viewed blog I have written, which shows the interest in this plant.   Click here for that blog, which contains a list of some of the cultivars that are available for this species: 
http://gardennotesfromleaningoaks.blogspot.ca/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=7

This weed was introduced from India via England into North America in 1855 and was first found in BC in the early 1970's. It is hard to believe that it hasn't been that long given the dense, ecology altering thickets that it can form. The tough poky vines make it difficult to control. It spreads by root and stem fragments as well as birds and omnivorous mammals. Most of the issues that we have with this species (Rubus armeniacus)  is around the garden. The berries are yummy but not worth it for the stranglehold that it puts on the native vegetation, garden plants and our ankles. 

This member of the rose family is the earliest blooming native shrub we have on the property.  In most years it starts to bloom in February, although this year the first flowers are starting to open now.  Indian Plum usually has separate male and female plants, and although we only have a few on the property, we have some of each.  The female plants bear orange drupes (plum-like fruits) that eventually turn deep blue - although they seldom last that way for very long as they are usually eaten by American Robins very quickly.
Indian Plum is useful in the garden because of it's early bloom.  Plants are easily propagated from hard wood cuttings taken in the fall.  

Of the two species of Oregon Grape on the property, this one (Mahonia nervosa) is the more shade tolerant and a nice patch of it grows under the densest patch of older Garry Oaks.  The name refers to the matte finish of the leaves when compared to Tall Oregon Grape.  Like that species, winter leaf colour varies and some individuals can have winter leaves of purples, reds and even brilliant scarlets.  David Douglas;  the botanist the Douglas-fir is named after, brought both species back to England for the gardens.  Of the two, he preferred this one.  I tend to agree, this species is very attractive, seldom requires cutting back, and, by merits of its shade tolerance, often is the answer to a difficult gardening problem - what to plant in dry shade?  Berries of both species are edible and make great jelly, either alone or combined with salal berries.

We have two native species of Oregon Grape growing on the property, this one, Mahonia aquifolium and the Dull Oregon Grape (M. nervosa).  We grow a third species in the garden.  Tall Oregon Grape has shiny leaves that look as if they are wet- hence the latin name, with smaller numbers of leaflets on each leaf.  The leaves vary quite a bit from plant to plant in leaflet shape and in winter colour.  Some plants have leaves that turn a nice burnished burgandy colour, while most stay green.  Yellow flowers in early spring and blue berries in late summer make this a particularly attractive species.  This is one of our natives that is used extensively in horticulture.  I remember seeing large boulevard plantings of this when we visited Holland a few years ago.

Luckily we have very little Daphne on the property...but every once in a while a few plants pop up. These are quickly pulled! Not only can this plant by invasive and can out compete the native vegetation in undisturbed areas, but it is also toxic. According to the Invasive Species Council of BC (see link below), "the toxins are in the bark, sap and the berries, and if contacted, the sap is known to cause skin rashes, nausea, swelling of the tongue and coma".  Nice. Perhaps I will wear gloves the next time that I pull any up!

http://www.bcinvasives.ca/general/weed-of-the-week-daphnespurge-laurel 

We have two species of Snowberry here at Leaning Oaks. The taller of the two is this one, Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), which ironically, is the less common of the two.  Here they don't always fruit, but when they do the white berries are a welcome sight on dreary winter days.  In the spring  they have small bell-shaped flowers which are often visited by bumble bees and both Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds.  Snowberries are the food plant for a number of native moth caterpillars  including the dapper and unusual Snowberry Bee Hawk Moth (Hemerus diffinis) a daytime flying, bee mimic we most often see feeding on our Dwarf Liliac. 

Salal (Gaultheria shallon) is found at Leaning Oaks in scattered patches and we retained many of them when we were developing the garden here. With their evergreen leathery leaves, and edible berry, they are valuable landscape plants, growing in both sun and shade and requiring no supplemental watering.  The berry makes an excellent jam/jelly with a foxy flavour that pairs well with game meats and as jam on toast.  Salal was an important plant in our family when we were growing up.  Our parents, as well as us boys, made extra pocket money picking salal on Salt Spring Island  for commercial buyers based out of the Cowichan Valley.  I still can't walk past a stand of salal without looking for those prized stems that had a flat spray of evenly spaced, blemish-free leaves.  The smell of bundles of salal that were brought into the basement so they could be sorted and carefully picked over so that blemished or torn leaves could be taken off the stems is one of those smells of my childhood.