5 Plants I Won’t Be Growing Again as a Beginner Gardener

This year, I embarked on a new phase in my life: budding gardening enthusiast. With a new house and a blank slate for a garden, the world of plants was my oyster, and I was excited to start planting and see what would do best with my light and soil conditions.

But a few months later, I’m here to tell you I’ve learned a lot—and there are a handful of plants that I wont be growing again. Here’s why.

Borage

Borage is a pretty plant with small, edible blue flowers. It’s actually technically a herb, and as an annual, the plant doesn’t come back year after year.

But one thing that it does do, quite prolifically, is self-seed. And therein lies my problem with borage. I don’t have a huge garden, so I need to pick and choose what I want to grow and what is worth taking up space.

But the borage I planted ended up self-seeding like gangbusters, and I was left with dozens of plants which grew quickly, toppled over, and in general were just a little bit of a mess.

I tried to leave a couple here and there in my garden bed, but next year, I think I’ll forego this plant altogether.

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Hydrangeas

People either love or hate hydrangeas, and unfortunately, I am in the second camp. Don’t get me wrong—in the right setting, they are stunning. They can be full and vibrant and add a charming, New England-style feel to the front of your house.

But one thing I have learned this year is that hydrangeas are not really for me. They can be kind of high maintenance, and the fact that they seem to be everywhere these days has made them less special for me.

Lavender (in Pots)

I love lavender. I love the scent, the appearance, and the fact bees love it too. I love lavender so much I have a tattoo of it on my arm.

So why is lavender on this list? While I have some beautiful lavender plants in my flower beds, I just cannot figure out how to grow it successfully in pots.

In late spring, I planted some lavender in some deck boxes on my front porch, and before long they were already dead. Did I overwater them? Underwater them? Did they get enough sun? I’ll never know, because I won’t try that again.

Ice Plant

Ice plants, also known as Delosperma or Lampranthus, are really pretty plants that are often used as ground covers and are known to do well in full-sun.

Unfortunately, that was not my experience with them in the two locations I tried to grow them. Both times, they seemed to get heat-stressed, and died halfway through summer. While I really like how these look—I had some bright orangey pink varieties—they just didn’t end up working in my garden.

Petunias

If you haven’t already guessed by now, I am a low-maintenance plant lover. So unfortunately, annuals like petunias that need to be deadheaded throughout the season will no longer make the cut in my space.

5 Plants I Will Be Growing Again

• Hostas – While my front yard probably could do with one or two fewer hostas, this fall I plan on absolutely filling my backyard with them. In my experience, they grow very big very quickly, are great for shady areas, and need very little attention.
• Coneflowers – As someone in a colder climate, hardy perennials are an absolute must, and it doesn’t get better than coneflowers. They grow quickly, have beautiful flowers, don’t need to be deadheaded or pruned, and self-seed for even more plants the following year.
• Creeping thyme – When I planted my ice plants, I also planted some creeping thyme right next to it. And despite a hot, dry summer, it’s grown beautifully and provided some nice groundcover in an awkward side area of my front yard.
• Zinnias – Though you have to plant zinnias every year, they put on such a stunning display for so long that it is very worth it. My zinnias are tall, full of beautiful flowers in different colors, and don’t require any maintenance throughout the season.
• Calibrachoa – If you love petunias but not the deadheading, calibrachoa are the perfect plant. They’re like small petunias, and I grew them in pots this year. They’ve continued to bloom through heat wave after heat wave—no deadheading needed.