Puglia: 22°C
Puerto Rico: 28°C
This is one of the best times of year to visit the southern tip of Italy. The weather in Puglia in May is dry and warm. It’s the start of the summer season with an average high temperature of 22°C (71°F). Evenings are mild, the sea is now nudging 18°C and it’s one of the driest months with only 35mm of rain falling over a handful of days.
The weather in Salento in May is one of the best for garden lovers. La Cutura is an 86-acre botanical garden near Lecce. Wander around the rock garden with its agave plants and cacti, La Serra with its succulents and tropical plants from Latin America and Africa before heading to the Mediterranean garden pricked by pines and cypress trees, juniper, sage, rosemary, buckthorn and honeysuckle.
At Castello di Ugento, a 17th-century castle in Salento, now a luxury boutique hotel, cooking school and museum and contemporary art exhibition space, the walled kitchen garden dates back to the 18th century. It was the first area of the castle to be restored and now the ‘giardino di piante utili’ or Garden of Useful plants is once more supplying fruit, vegetables and herbs for the castle’s kitchen. The temperatures in Salento in May are now in the low 20s helping the cherries to ripen. The rich red cherries are now ready to be picked along with zucchini flowers and rocket. It’s also a peaceful place to wander, sit and soak up the silence.
