June in Seattle

A Little Free Library which are popping up all over Seattle.

All photos were taken on Beacon Hill in June 2014.

June in Seattle was warmer & much drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 62F/16.7C.  The normal mean temperature is 60.9F/16.1C.  Total precipitation was 0.73 inches/18.54mm.  Normal precipitation is 1.57 inches/39.88mm.  The highest temperature was 79F/26.1C on 6/25, the lowest was 48F/8.9C on 6/16.  There was 1 day with rain, 12 days with light rain, 8 days with fog (2 of them with visibility at less than 1/4 mile) 14 cloudy days, 15 partly cloudy days & 1 fair day.  Seattleites enjoyed 2 of their largest festivals at the end of June: the Fremont Fair 6/20-22, which included the Fremont Solstice Parade on 6/21 & Seattle PrideFest 6/28-29 (the 40th gay pride celebration in Seattle) with over 100,000 people attending.

June in Seattle

Cistus purpureus (Orchid Rockrose) on Capitol Hill. June 2013

 

Phygelius x rectus 'Moonraker' (Cape Fuchsia) with roses on Capitol Hill. June 2013.

 Stewartia on Capitol Hill. June 2013

Cistus (Rockrose) on Capitol Hill. June 2013

 

Philadelphus lewisii at the Olympic Sculpture Park. June 2013

June 2013 in Seattle was warmer & drier than normal.  The mean temperature was 64.8F/18.2C.  The normal mean temperature is 60.9F/16C.  Total precipitation was 1.3 inches/33mm.  Normal precipitation is 1.57 inches/39.8mm.  There were 2 days with heavy rain, 2 days with rain, 14 days with light rain, 7 days with fog, 2 days with haze, 9 cloudy days, 19 partly cloudy days & 2 fair days.  It was unusually warm both at the beginning & end of the month.  It was 79F/26.1C on 6/4, 80F/26.6C on 6/5 & 6/6, 87F/30.5C on 6/28, 86F/30C on 6/29 & 93F/33.8C on 6/30.

The dry season in Seattle begins in June.  People generally start irrigation during this month.  The skies are often cloudy with little or no rain.  Roses, rockroses & clematis, among many other flowers, are in bloom.

June Garden Pictures

Erigeron glaucus 'Albus' June 2012

Erigeron glaucus June 2012  

Gaura lindheimeri June 2012

Penstemon x mexicali June 2012

Rosa glauca June 2012

June 2012 in Seattle was cooler, with much more rain than normal.  The mean temperature was 58.3F/14.6C.  The normal mean temperature is 60.9F/16C.  Total precipitation was 2.96 inches.  Normal precipitation is 1.57 inches.  Many people complained about the weather.  The Seattle Times called it June-uary.  However, January 2012 saw 6.83 inches of rain.  Even normal January rainfall is 5.57 inches, nearly twice the amount we received in June 2012.  The normal mean temperature for January is 42F/5.5C.  My sympathy was limited.  June 2012 was more like May, which had 2.68 inches of rain.  Perennials grew larger than than ever.  Many shrubs & trees added an amazing amount of growth.  June 2012 was a month of abundance.  There was 1 day with heavy rain, 6 days with rain, 18 days with light rain, 12 days with fog, 1 day with haze, 21 cloudy days, 9 partly cloudy days & no fair days.  The highest temperature was 76F/24.4C, the lowest 43F/6.1C.  Consistently warm, dry & sunny weather does not usually arrive in Seattle until after the 4th of July.

June Garden Pictures & Bloom Times

 Digitalis purpurea June 2011

Nectaroscordum siculum June 2011

 Oenothera versicolor June 2011

Penstemon serrulatus June 2011

 Thymus doerfleri 'Doone Valley'

Below is a list of plants that began to bloom in my garden in Seattle in June 2010. I recorded the date when the 1st flower opened, not when they were in bud. I think this information is helpful in planning your garden. If you have room for more plants that bloom in June, you can choose something new that will bloom along with something you already have, or you can fill temporal gaps between blooms.  Nurseries in Seattle usually sell plants when they are in bloom. I have included dates from previous years. Weather conditions probably account for most of the difference in bloom times.

June 2011 was cooler & drier than normal.  The average daily high temperature was 66.8F/19.3C.  The normal average daily high temperature is 70F/21.1C.  The highest temperature was 80F/26.6C, the lowest 38F/3.3C.  We had 0.67 inches of rain, 1.11 less than normal.  However, there were 1.25 inches in the rain gauge in my garden.  It rained on 13 days.  There were 13 cloudy days, 12 partly cloudy days & 5 sunny days.

06-01-11 Rhododendron 'Sappho' 5-04-10, 5-20-09, 5-18-08

06-02-11 Digitalis purpurea 5-26-09, 5-25-08

06-02-11 Erigeron glaucus 5-08-10. 5-29-09, 5-18-08

06-02-11 Paeonia 'Flame' 5-11-10, 5-25-09, 5-25-08

06-02-11 Rhododendron 'Purple Splendour' 5-26-09

06-03-11 Geranium cantabrigiense 5-15-10, 5-20-09, 5-18-08

06-03-11 Geranium orientalitibeticum 5-25-09

06-04-11 Campanula portenschlagiana 5-18-10

06-04-11 Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Victoria' 5-10-10, 5-30-09, 5-28-08

06-04-11 Rhododendron macrophyllum 5-18-10, 5-26-09, 5-18-08

06-05-11 Allium unifolium 5-27-10, 5-30-09, 5-25-08

06-05-11 Linnea borealis

06-05-11 Sisyrinchium californicum 5-25-10, 6-05-09, 6-12-08

06-05-11 Stachys chrysantha

06-06-11 Iris hartwegii 5-13-10

06-06-11 Sedum obtusatum 6-02-10, 6-03-08

06-07-11 Oenothera versicolor

06-07-11 Penstemon x mexicali 5-16-10, 6-05-09. 6-03-08

06-07-11 Rosa rugosa 'Hansa' 5-18-10

06-09-11 Echinocereus reichenbachii var. albispinus 5-25-10, 5-25-09

06-09-11 Kniphofia nelsonii 5-14-10, 6-01-09, 5-28-08

06-10-11 Penstemon serrulatus 5-30-10, 6-5-09, 6-12-08

06-10-11 Sisyrinchium striatum

06-11-11 Magnolia ashei  6-04-09, 6-03-10

06-11-11 Rosa nutkana

06-13-11 Digitalis obscura 06-05-09, 6-05-08

06-13-11 Lupinus arboreus

06-13-11 Rosa glauca  6-05-08,

06-14-11 Campanula persicifolia  6-09-10, 6-10-09

06-14-11 Lychnis coronaria

06-14-11 Thymus argenteus

06-15-11 Aruncus aethusifolius  6-02-10, 6-11-09, 6-21-08

06-15-11 Tanacetum parthenium

06-17-11 Paeonia 'Mischief'

06-18-11 Campanula poscharskyana  6-11-10, 5-26-09, 6-12-08

06-18-11 Digitalis lutea  6-02-10, 6-22-08

06-21-11 Allium cernuum  6-18-10, 6-12-09, 6-22-08

06-21-11 Digitalis dubia

06-21-11 Penstemon pinifolius  6-04-10, 6-11-09, 6-22-08

06-21-11 Sedum aizoon  6-23-10, 6-23-09

06-21-11 Sedum forsterianum 6-22-08

06-22-11 Clematis integrifolia  6-11-10, 6-11-09

06-22-11 Paeonia 'Nippon Beauty' 6-03-09

06-23-11 Sedum sexangulare  6-26-10, 6-16-09, 7-06-08

06-23-11 Stachys byzantina 6-18-08

06-25-11 Hypericum ‘Hidcote’  6-06-10, 6-10-09, 6-20-08

06-26-11 Erigeron 'Blue Beauty' 6-11-09

06-26-11 Prunella vulgaris

06-27-11 Acanthus hungaricus

06-27-11 Achillea millefolium

06-28-11 Hebe salicifolia  6-14-10, 6-16-09, 7-10-08

06-29-11 Triteleia ‘Queen Fabiola’  6-23-10, 6-11-09, 6-22-08

06-29-11 Ligularia stenocephala ‘The Rocket’  6-21-10, 7-06-08

06-29-11 Sedum dasyphyllum  6-26-10, 6-16-09, 6-25-08

06-30-11 Aconitum napellus 6-21-09. 6-30-08