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 resilient.
Bloom
bloomloves asters
THE SEASON • What to forage, spot, harvest and grow this autumn
FRUITS OF LABOUR • Junipers are difficult to grow and take up to 20 years to bear fruit, but that hasn’t put some people off attempting to save them from extinction. Sarah Cleaver finds out why this native shrub is useful for much more than just gin
Five horticulturalists, 25 expertly chosen plants and an autumn/winter garden full of colours, textures and wildlife
TOP SOIL • No-dig gardening is better for soil, plants and planet. Organic kitchen gardener Stephanie Hafferty explains why some things are best left alone
How to grow… ranunculus • The flower-farming duo behind new book How to Grow the Flowers show us how to do just that
Contain your excitement • Creating a beautiful planter combination is like acing a recipe – add a little of this, a lot of that and a dash of something special. Harriet Rycroft, a container gardening pro and the author of handbook Pots, explains how to cook up tempting winter-to-spring displays
TART IT UP! • Crab apples – the sharp, wild ancestors of our domesticated apples – deserve a spot in the garden too. Kitchen gardener Helena Dove carries a torch for these autumnal delights
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY • Take the time to grow or source your own materials for characterful garden supports that feel part of nature
CRUNCH TIME • Their peppery bite livens up any salad, but there’s more to radishes than that…
‘Working with flowers makes me feel alive. Slowly, slowly it changes me’ • More than 70 per cent of victims of modern slavery in the UK are women, many trafficked for sexual exploitation. Strength & Stem is on a mission to use floristry to help survivors find a new lease of life
A master class in revolution • In the Brecon Beacons, a groundbreaking university is teaching students to reimagine the way humans live for a sustainable future. Euan Ferguson visits Black Mountains College
CHOP AND CHANGE • Once rich in temperate rainforest and wild, wooded land, Britain is now facing a major timber crisis. Nick Jarvis and Tom Kemp – co-founders of Working Woodlands Cornwall, a not-for-profit improving woodland biodiversity – explain why we need to start felling our own
WINNING LUMBERS • Ten timber trees that populate our woodlands – and their place in our lives
Crops, chickens, polytunnels… …and children • There’s a new curriculum being taught at a school in north London, and it doesn’t involve sitting quietly at a desk. The charity Grow is shaking up education, one muddy school uniform at a time
water world • Historic water meadows are sites of ecological diversity and essential parts of rural green corridors. Zena Alkayat meets Caryn Hibbert, the founder of Cotswolds hotel Thyme, who sees the value in conserving a third of her land purely for nature
Earth lines • A new generation of poets are using their work to confront the environmental crisis. Awardwinning poet Molly Underwood tells us why venerating nature is no longer enough
‘If you control seed, you control the whole system’ • Reclaiming food production from corporations is a radical act of resistance – and it all starts with seeds
full bloom
Best practical books of the year • There was a bumper crop of excellent gardening books in 2022 – here we’ve...