View from the Rear Window - June 2024

 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)
  • 2 x Blackbirds (male & female)
  • 1 x Blue Tit
  • 2 x Collared Doves
  • 5 x Crows
Photo 2: Two Young Crows Near the Birdfeeder

Photo 3: Inquisitive and Intelligent
  • 15 x House Sparrows
  • 1 x Herring Gull
  • 1 x Magpie
  • 12 x Starlings (including young)
Video 2: Adult Starling Feeding its Fledged Youngster
  • 30 x Swifts
  • 4 x Wood Pigeons
  • 1 x Wren
Photo 4: Wren Hiding at the Entrance to the Secret Garden

Video 3: Wren At the Entrance to the Secret Garden
  • 2 x Herons (flying overhead)
  • Scarlet Tiger Moth
Photo 5: Scarlet Tiger Moth in the Mini-Wood
Photo 6: Large Yellow Underwing Moth on Mary's Art Studio
  • 3 x Common Frogs in our small pond
Photo 7: Three Common Frogs (June 21st)

Photo 8: Two of the Three Common Frogs

And, finally, some photos from the garden ...

Photo 9: Paradise Garden (June 2nd)

Photo 10: Secret Garden (June 2nd)

Photo 11: Exit Stage Right

Photo 12: Astrantia

Photo 13: Inquisitive Fly on Dahlia Flower (June 29th)

Photo 14: Giant Fleabane (June 29th)

Photo 15: Feverfew (June 29th)

Photo 16: Alstroemeria (June 29th)

Photo 17: Dahlia (June 25th)
 
Photo 18: Poppy (June 18th)

Photo 19: Elderflower (June 13th)

Photo 20: Clematis in the Secret Garden (June 13th)

Photo 21: Clematis (June 13th)

Photo 22: Rose Flower (June 13th)

Photo 23: Mini-Garden outside the Arts Studio (June 13th)


In case you couldn't spot all three frogs in Photo 7, here they are ...

Photo 24: Three Common Frogs


Reducing Plastic Waste - A Start

 In a previous post, I commented on several unintended consequences resulting from the move away from disposing of waste in landfill (not good) to the increasing use of EfW incinerators. For one thing, the incentive to sort waste and recycle it is diminished; operators are happy to burn as much as possible (within their permits) because they can charge local authorities by the tonne for disposal and generate more electricity which can be sold onto the power suppliers.

Photo 1: Doorstep Milk Delivery

The second unintended consequence was due to the change in the composition of household waste; less food waste (EfW via anaerobic digestion) and more plastic waste. This has turned these incinerators into a major pollution source, as bad as or worse than coal-fired power stations.

Most plastic is not recycled even when it would be fairly trivial to do so. Recycling rates worldwide are slowly improving but are still below 10%. To solve this problem, we need to use less plastic and recycle a much higher percentage of what we do use. Plastics is a versatile & cheap product with an almost infinite number of uses. It can be sterilised for single use medical supplies, turned into strong lightweight containers or thin films for food protection, and many other uses. It will not be easy to wean ourselves off it. Nevertheless, we should all make more effort to use less and recycle more.

One little step we have taken is to switch from buying milk from the local supermarket (plastic and TetraPak containers) to a doorstep delivery in reusable glass bottles (Figure 1). We have also taken the opportunity to switch to non-dairy alternatives as our local milkman offers oat 'milk' in pint bottles. Milk deliveries are twice a week and our milkman delivers at midnight or just after. For obvious reasons, we haven't met our milkman, Steve!

Video 1: Milk Delivery at 45 minutes after midnight on a winter's night

We have also switched to plastic-free dishwasher tablets and will be looking at more options to reduce our use of plastic.

First Garden Snowdrop of 2025

 Every January, I keep a lookout for the first snowdrop flower in the garden to open. This year it happened on 13th of the month.

Photo 1: First Garden Snowdrop of 2025 on 13th January

I now have 4 years of phenological data reporting on the first appearance of an open snowdrop flower in the garden. See here and here for 2023 & 2024 reports respectively. Figure 1 summarises the phenology data. There is no discernible trend or correlation with local weather/climate factors but the time series is far too short. For some reason, 2024 was very unusual.

Figure 1: Day of the Year When First Garden Snowdrop Flower Opens

As usual, I've uploaded my record to the Woodland Trust's Nature's Calendar phenology database.

Finally, this was Google's 'stylised' photo offering of the top-of-the-page photo ...

Photo 2: Stylised Photo by Google!


View from the Rear Window - May 2024

 May - the name derives from separate Greek and Roman goddesses who were both called Maia. The Greek version was the mother of Hermes; the root meaning of maia in Greek is maia  "mother, nurse, midwife". The Roman version was Maia Majesta, who was a goddess of fertility and spring, and the root meaning is considered to be "magnus" (i.e. great). Both versions seem appropriate for the month of May, the prelude to Summer and the onset of rapid growth.  

Just the one photograph from the back garden this month. The wisteria is blooming marvellous, the mountain ash (rowanberry) is in flower and there are roses in the Paradise Garden.

Photo 1: View from the Rear Window, May 8th 2024

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

Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden, May 2024

May, as I recall, was a warm month if not especially sunny. With a reasonable amount of rain, it was a good month for gardening and the garden (see here, here and here). The Met Office recorded May 2024 as the warmest May since 1884. Certainly, there were some very good (dry, sunny and warm) days. The Northern Lights were visible over much of the country though sadly not here in Hereford. The weather stats for May 2024' are summarised in the table below.

May 2024

Weather Parameter

Value

Dates

Average Monthly Temperature 

15 oC


Maximum Monthly Temperature

27 oC

9th, 10th, 12th

Minimum Monthly Temperature

5 oC

5th

Number of Air Frost Days

0


Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)

6


Monthly Precipitation

51.6 mm


Greatest 24 h Precipitation

10.4 mm

25th - 26th

Number of Dry Days

17


Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)

187



Highest Wind Speed

31 km/h

23rd

Heating Degree Days

121.4


Cooling Degree Days

19.2



Daily maximum and minimum temperatures for May 2024 are plotted in Figure 1 (click once to enlarge). A cool start followed by a warm second week before settling down to average May temperatures.

Figure 1: Min/Max Daily Temperatures (May 2024)

Figure 2 plots the daily rainfall and sunshine (using solar radiation as a proxy for sunshine hours) data for May 2024. Cold & wet for the first week, warm and sunny for the second week and changeable for the remainder of the month.

Figure 2: Rainfall/Sunshine (May 2024)

In Figures 3 & 4, various weather parameters (sun, rain, temperature and wind) for May 2024 are compared with their equivalent in the previous 4 years. These confirm that May this year (2024) was indeed warm. From a gardener's point of view, it was nice to see the absence of frosts this month.

Figure 3: Temperature Data for May (2020 - 2024)

The observation (Figure 4) of low sunshine hours and moderate rainfall indicates a predominance of dry cloudy conditions throughout the month. This, undoubtedly, helped with the overall warmth by maintaining high night time temperatures. There has been a steady and consistent drop in the maximum wind speed experienced in May over the last five years. Fewer storms?

Figure 4: Rain, Wind & sun Trends for May (2020 - 2024)

The three figures below are taken from the Met Office's monthly report for May 2024. Not only was it warm in our back garden (Figure 4) but also in Herefordshire (circled) and, indeed, the whole of the UK (Figure 5).

Figure 5: UK Mean Monthly Temperature Anomalies (May 2024)

Meanwhile, May's rainfall was close to the average for the back garden and Herefordshire (circled) though much more variable over the rest of the UK.

Figure 6: UK Monthly Rainfall (May 2024)

As Figure 7 illustrates, much of the UK was dull, dull, dull this month; and our back garden (Figure 4) and Herefordshire (Figure 7, circled) were no exception. Natural vitamin D production, through exposure to UVB from sunlight, was probably down this month. I don't suppose there was an increase in rickets but I do wonder whether there is a business opportunity in selling Vitamin D supplements?

Figure 7: UK Monthly Sunshine Hours (May 2024)

Jobs in the Garden
  • Plant cucumber and tomato plants into the Quadgrow planters in the polytunnel
  • Harvesting asparagus (approximately 80 spears)
  • Plant out French Bean (Cobra) and Sweetcorn plants; sow more seeds for succession planting
  • Plant out Calabrese and Cauliflower plants sown in April.
  • Plant out squash, courgette, celeriac and celery plants
  • Slug attack with nematodes
  • Sow Parsnip, Broad Beans and more French Beans
  • Composting & weeding
Flora & Fauna (seen in the garden)
  • 1 x Blackbird (male)
  • 2 x Blue Tits
  • 1x Buzzard
  • 1 x Coal Tit
  • 1 x Collared Dove
  • 5 x Crows
  • 10 x House Sparrows
  • 1 x Magpie
  • 12  Starlings (including young)
Photo 2: Young Starling on the Birdfeeder
Photo 3: Orange-tip Butterfly in the Garden (May 2024)

Video 2: Holly Blue (recently emerged) in the Garden (May 2024)
  • Gypsonoma moth, Common Cloaked Tortrix?
Photo 4: Common Cloaked Tortrix on Blackcurrant Flowers

And, finally, a few photos from the garden ...

Photo 5: Under the Wisteria Arch (May 2nd)

Photo 6: Poppy (May 4th)

Photo 7: Wisteria Arch from the Kitchen Garden (May 4th)

Photo 8: Secret Garden (May 7th)

Photo 9: Paradise Garden (May 9th)

Photo 10: Mountain Ash/Rowanberry Flowers (May 9th)

Photo 11: Rose, Paradise Garden (May 9th)

Photo 12: Rose, Secret Garden (May 16th)

Photo 13: Allium (May 16th)

Photo 14: Thalictrum, Meadow Rue (May 16th)

Photo 15: Clematis, Secret Garden (May 16th)

Photo 16: Honey bee on Allium (May 17th)

Photo 17: Cistus (May 17th)

Photo 18: Secret Garden (May 30th)

Photo 19: Dinah's Cactus (May 28th)


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