View from the Rear Window - June 2024 ~ Crafty Cabbage

June - named after Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage among other things.

My garden photo for June was taken on 22nd of the month and shows the rose garden in flower (far right, near the bird feeders).

Photo 1: Back Garden on 22nd June 2024

The daily garden photos are collated in Video 1 ...

Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden - June 2024

June was definitely on the cool side with many people asking: "when is summer arriving?". Despite the lower than normal temperatures, it was reasonably sunny and very dry. The Hereford weather stats for June 2024 are provided in the table below.

June 2024
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	16 oC
Maximum Monthly Temperature	31 oC	26th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	4 oC	5th
Number of Air Frost Days	0
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	6
Monthly Precipitation	11.6 mm
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	6.4 mm	15th - 16th
Number of Dry Days	23
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	209
Highest Wind Speed	34 km/h	27th
Heating Degree Days	109.1
Cooling Degree Days	26.1

Daily maximum and minimum temperatures for June 2024 are shown in Figure 1. The month started off quite promising with temperatures in the low twenties (Celsius) for the first three days. Then a shift in wind direction brought in cold Arctic air for the next two weeks before we finally got some warm weather towards the end of the month. The cooler nights over the first 2-3 weeks held back growth in the kitchen garden but only delayed harvesting by about a week. It did mean we could enjoy the asparagus season well into June.

Figure 1: Min/Max Daily Temperatures for June 2024

Daily rainfall and sunshine hours (measured as solar radiation) for June 2024 are shown in Figure 2. A dry month with only three rainfall events in the second half of the month.

Figure 2: Rainfall & Sunshine for June 2024

My Davis weather station has been operating since November 2019 so I now have data for June covering the last five years. Figure 3 presents some of the temperature data for the month of June over the past five years. In Hereford, average temperatures vary between 16 ℃ and 18 ℃ in June though for different reasons; for example, 2023 had the warmest June not because of high daytime temperatures but due to high overnight temperatures.

Figure 3: Temperature Data for June 2020 - 2024

Figure 4 looks at weather parameters related to sun, wind and rain. Here there does seem to be a trend emerging, albeit over too short a period to be conclusive. June in Hereford appears to be getting sunnier and drier.

Figure 4: Rain, Wind & Sun Trends for June (2020 - 2024)

The next three figures are taken from the Met Office's Monthly Report for June 2024. We are interested (maybe selfishly) in the marked region which (approximately) marks Herefordshire with Hereford itself in the middle. The UK was cooler (Figure 5) than the long-term average (1991 - 2020), especially the west of the country and this included Herefordshire and Hereford (see Figure 3).

Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies for June 2024

Apart from the very NW part of Scotland, June was very dry (Figure 6) with Herefordshire (and Hereford) receiving less than half its normal rainfall (see Figure 4).

Figure 6: UK Rainfall (relative) for June 2024

The east of the UK was sunnier than normal while the west of the country was at, or below, the long-term average (Figure 7). Herefordshire (Figure 7) and Hereford (Figure 4) received the expected (i.e. typical) number of sunshine hours for the month.

Figure 7: UK Sunshine Hours (relative) for June 2024

Jobs in the Garden

First cucumber picked on June 1st. Approximately 23 cucumbers picked in June
Beetroot seed and French Beans sown in the ground
Harvesting onions, courgettes (~5 kg), garlic, salad leaves, radishes, French beans, asparagus
Regular picking of blackcurrant and raspberries
Composting in full swing with all three hot composters in action
Despite dry weather (Figure 4), no watering needed in the kitchen garden

Flora & Fauna (seen in the garden)