Wet spring musings

The Pacific Northwest has a largely deserved reputation for copious rains. But my corner of the PNW is usually blessed with drier spring weather than the rest of the region. Not so this year!

According to the National Weather Service our rainfall in May was 2.97 inches. This is 1.76 inches above average, well over twice what we can expect. This has certainly helped forestall the predicted drought conditions for the coming summer. The litany “we need the rain” can be overheard at grocery stores, garden centers and employee lunchrooms. And it’s true.

But focus down from the big picture into one corner of my garden. The increased rain has encouraged a weed I had formerly dismissed and has elevated it to the coveted LFW (least favorite weeds) status.



I am speaking of the Western Buttercup, Ranunculus occidentalis. While researching this menace I discovered that the genus name Ranunculus comes from the Latin rana or “little frog”, referring to the habit of growing in moist locales. Pair this with occidentalis, from the west, and my garden scourge sports a rather whimsical moniker, little frog of the west. (Note the initials LFW. Coincidence? I think not!)

Is it possible that recalling that fanciful name will help restore some humorous perspective to the odious task of clearing out a jungle of this weed? I hope it does because the invasiveness of this buttercup is astonishing, in a “Little Shop of Horrors” way.

The balance of climatic conditions gives any region its own gardening persona. Alter one condition and expect changes. The local explosion of mushrooms should have been a clue.







Such a departure from the usual numbers and varieties of spring fungi is peculiar enough to alert the mindful gardener that this spring is different and that other, more sinister, plants may be exploding as well. Reading such signs is essential to gardening and should be second nature, regardless of the hectic pace of living.

My little frog of the west provided yet another small nudge, a reminder to pay attention, here in the gardening department of continuing education.