Record heat leaves flower growers short of blooms

British flower growers say the hottest summer on record has cost them entire crops, with some unable to bring anything to London markets.

George Stevens, a fourth-generation grower at Stevens of Sibsey in Lincolnshire, lost most of his peony season in May when temperatures jumped from 14C to 30C ((57 to 86F) within days, and has spent the months since irrigating ground too dry for seed to germinate.

"It's by far the driest year we've ever had," he tells the BBC at Chiswick Flower Market on Sunday.

Met Office provisional figures put summer 2026 as the UK's warmest since records began in 1884, with a mean temperature of 16.5C (61.7F), above the 16.10C (61F) record set last year.

England and Wales recorded their driest July on record, and by 10 August the National Drought Group reported that 71.3% of England was in drought, with more than 27 million people living under water restrictions.

For Stevens the damage was done early. A cool start to May gave way within days to temperatures in the low 30s, and the peonies never recovered. What followed was months of hard, dry ground.

"It just went from 14 degrees to 30 degrees," he says. "We missed the whole season.

"If we're putting seeds in the ground, they're not germinating because there's not enough moisture," he says.

"Then you've got to irrigate, which costs fortunes and it's so expensive to do."

The sums are what worry him: "By the time you've done it, you're near the point of 'is it still profitable to keep going, and where's the cut-off point?' That has been the biggest tackle I've known this year."

Getting the flowers to London is its own shift: Stevens had about two hours' sleep before Sunday's market.

"It's extremely hard work," he says. "Last night when we got back from all the markets we were in the field about 8 o'clock with head torches until 10, and then what we had to do was pack, process and then bring them out to the markets today."

He is not alone in a difficult year. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, which campaigns on climate policy, estimates the heat and drought could cost arable farmers as much as £390m in lost revenue, with 2026 on course for one of the worst harvests since detailed records began in 1984.

The Turfgrass Growers Association has warned its own members face rising costs and mounting climate risk.

Chiswick Flower Market is one of a number of monthly markets that let growers sell direct to customers rather than through wholesalers or supermarkets. The market's organisers say several growers have had to drop out this summer because they had nothing to bring.

British-grown cut flowers remain a small share of what the country buys. The growers' association Flowers from the Farm estimates about 90% of flowers sold through UK florists, supermarkets and wholesalers are imported, chiefly from the Netherlands but also from Kenya, Ecuador, Colombia and Ethiopia. The association, which now has more than 1,000 members, says buyers increasingly ask for seasonal, scented and locally-grown blooms.

Stevens says the answer to a hotter, drier climate lies less in emergency watering than in what happens once the season ends.

"One of the biggest ones for us is keeping your soil, your ground good," he says. "It's not now the work starts, it's at the end of the season. Take care of your land and the land will take care of you."

Asked how he stays positive, he laughs. "It's more for me probably pride, and I want to see my family so proud.

"If you didn't love the job, you wouldn't do it. I'm so eager to keep my family legacy going."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk