7 Plants UK Gardeners Won’t Be Growing Again In 2027

What a year 2026 has been. We’ve had heatwave after blistering heatwave, leading to drought in parts of the UK – and resulting hosepipe bans are expected to last until the end of the year, according to a Thames Water boss.

That’s spelled chaos for gardeners.

The Royal Horticultural Society found that while some species, like wild carrots and lavender, thrived in the parched conditions, others like hydrangeas suffered enormously.

And a peek at Reddit’s r/GardeningUK proves that ordinary growers are starting to reconsider what they plant, too.

Writing to the group, site user u/oldschoolie asked their fellow green-fingered forum members: “What will you be giving up on because it died or needed too much coddling in the drought this year?”

Here are some of the most-upvoted responses:

Credit: u/Normal-Height-8577

BTW, the Royal Horticultural Society offers similar advice. Its principal horticultural advisor, Leigh Hunt, said: “As temperatures become more extreme don’t replace like for like – if a plant is struggling in your garden you can plant something better suited to the space.”

“I’ve been nursing a bunch of them for the last four years… and tried many spots, but every summer [they] become pretty sorry looking. [They] take too much effort to get back to [a good condition] before they get ‘summered’ again.”

Credit: u/Glittering-Mentat-4

Hydrangeas seem to be among the most susceptible plants in a heatwave.

“Urgh. Even with the drought, they still got slug-decimated, and have just sat there looking crap and scraggly since.”

Redditor u/A_Pure_Motive agreed, writing: “Same here, looked fabulous for about a month, if that, and have looked awful since the hot weather hit and also been subject to multiple aphid attacks. Saved all the seeds, hoping to plant more for next year, and now I’m thinking meh…”

“I want some grass, but the rest will be pollinator-friendly plants which don’t need much water.”

Wildflowers, clover, and thyme can “reduce or eliminate the need for watering and improve biodiversity,” explained the RHS. Gardens that follow a mixed grass and wildflower pattern are sometimes called tapestry lawns.

We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how important it is to place potted plants in dark, shady spots when it’s hot out. Their thinner soil dries out much faster than soil in the ground – this is especially true for dark plastic and unsealed terracotta pots.

In general, container plants suffer more in the heat.

“They always end up with powdery mildew and look awful. Output has been dwindling in recent years, especially bad this year.”

And u/destria seemed to have a similar experience, writing: “It’s been my worst year for courgettes too. Such a low yield. I’m usually drowning in them, but this year, even with five plants, we’ve only been getting maybe three to four decent courgettes each week. I don’t even like courgettes that much…”

“They’ve done very poor[ly] the last two years,” u/insrtitherenow, who‘s also given up on celery, said.

For their part, u/Panda1953 reckoned, “Neither sweet peas [nor] tomatoes have been a success this summer. Won’t bother next summer.”

If you’re looking to overhaul your back garden ahead of what seem to be very likely future heatwaves, we’ve written a handy guide on where to start.