Bloom

Bloom is a seasonal magazine for gardeners, plant admirers, nature lovers and outdoor adventurers. Each issue is packed with practical gardening projects, explorations of the natural world and celebrations of the beauty of all green spaces, whether they’re in the wilderness or on a windowsill. Beautiful and useful, Bloom inspires you to harness the power of nature and to get out there and be a part of it.

Nature is rooting.

Bloom

bloomloves hellebores

THE SEASON • The trees were reminders of both our own ephemerality and their endurance long beyond ours, and in their uprightness they stood in the landscape like guardians and witnesses rebecca solnit, orwell’s roses

PLANT BLUE FLOWERS • Blue thou art, intensely blue; Flower, whence came thy dazzling hue?

PLUCK BEECH LEAVES • To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature. At the passing of the breeze the fir-trees sob and moan no less distinctly than they rock… the beech rustles while its flat boughs rise and fall

THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER • It’s green, it grows in gravel and it could be the healthiest veg on the planet. Marion McBurney’s family have been cultivating watercress for 168 years – she tells us why this peppery crop is better when grown the traditional way

Spring into action • In his new book What to Sow, Grow and Do, head gardener Benjamin Pope guides us through a year in the garden, sharing his favourite plants, gardening insights, timely tasks and top projects. Here he gives us eight seasonal jobs to get stuck into

Form, function and floral brilliance • Starting a cut-flower patch can bring life and colour to your garden and your home. Sustainable flower farmer and author of Cut Flowers Celestina Robertson introduces the key forms you need to grow for naturalistic floral designs

Light up the shadows • Got a low-lit space in need of life? Susanna Grant, author of Shade, shares five of her favourite plant combinations for a darker spot

START A COMMUNITY GARDEN… IN 5 STEPS • It could be the greatest gift you give to your neighbourhood. Community growing coordinator Kiloran O’Leary tells us how to break ground on a shared green space

GROW YOUR OWN CHANGE • Gardener, activist and founder of community growing project Edible Bristol, Sara Limback, shares her hard-won wisdom on creating a garden with the power to bring people together

It’s about time • No plant lasts forever, but knowing what to expect means you can leave behind a legacy for people and planet. Gardener Simon Goodenough, estate manager of the Grade II-listed garden at Folly Farm in Berkshire, tells us how to be age aware

Step away from the pesticide… • …and abandon the idea of total pest eradication. Organic gardener and author of The Healthy Vegetable Garden Sally Morgan offers a guide to getting unwanted visitors to buzz off – the holistic way

BEANS MEAN VINES • Make some room for legumes – these beans can be the stars of your planting plan, says organic food grower Huw Richards

NO PLACE LIKE HOME • Woven, moulded, chewed and layered using all sorts of natural materials, nests are a marvel of ingenuity and engineering. Here are six to spot on a spring stroll

CLIP ART • Topiary is back in vogue, but its roots go back a long way. We visit the queen of shears, Charlotte Molesworth, to find out more about the enduring appeal of sculpting bushes

‘PLANTS EMPOWER US TO BE INDEPENDENT FROM THE SYSTEM’ • Chilean artist Patricia Domínguez draws on science, politics and spirituality to explore the relationship between plants and people. She tells us why understanding this bond can save the planet

‘High above Sheffield’s city skyline, I become one of the #TrashMob’ • Can picking up other people’s rubbish ever be...