Why do I love the rain?! Maybe I wouldn’t be such a pluviophile if I lived somewhere that it rained often. I grew up in Penn. where it rained regularly. Once as a teenager with my friends, we ran outside in a rainstorm and washed our hair in the rain. It was an exhilarating experience which I have never forgotten. We lay on the street, which was on a hill, letting the water that coursed down the street wash out the shampoo. What fun!

I’m not as impetuous today, but I am in tune with the rain in a fuller way now. As a Landscape Designer, I notice more the changes that rain affects on the earth and plants.

I love the way rain makes everything smell good: from lavenders in my garden to native sage in the desert. Upon contact with rain, good soil bacteria with the name of Streptomyces make the air smell good. The feel of soft rain on your skin is cool, too, literally!

Rain makes everything look more beautiful. Leaves that have been dusty for months are finally clean again, letting the plant breathe more easily. Colors are refracted differently than in the sunshine: normally pale flowers and blueish leaves finally get to stand out. (Just look at Blue Fescue.)  The way the rain puddles in the leaves of Lady’s Mantle is downright cute.

I’m relieved that the plants we planted this week at my job site are going to get watered in naturally. I also think of all the critters that may be feeling rain for the first time, such as the fawn that I saw a couple days ago.

Of course, I also love how the rain slows down my business a little. Even if I’m still working away at my drafting table away, I can peek out at the rain while fantasizing about what the next plant will be in my design.