Seasons at the allotment: May 2022

May brought us the traditional mixed weather that our spring months are notorious for.

But there was one particular highlight for gardeners and growers - rain.

Some heavy showers and bands of rain, particularly toward the end of the month, may have given the impression that May was a bit of a washout. But actually rainfall was about average- it just came off the back of a dry March and April.

Spring, as a whole, saw around a quarter less rain than average.

With more rain around, sometimes the sun struggled to make an appearance. Sunshine hours were below average for the month, with northern and western areas being particularly dull.

But despite all of that it was another mild month.

May 2022 will go down as the fifth warmest May on record in a series that goes back to 1884. The increased average temperature was largely down to record-breaking overnight temperatures.