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 changing

Bloom

‘And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils…’ • Wordsworth knew it – these nodding delights offer far more than a pop of colour on roundabouts. We speak to Caroline Thomson, founder of Scotland’s Daffodil Festival, about spring’s essential flowers

A SPRING FLING • Four Backhouse daffodils to fall for

Subscribe to Bloom and get a free gift • Dig in to expert gardening ideas and stories from our wild world. Plus receive two free Weleda products.

STEP OUTSIDE WITH… MARCHELLE FARRELL • Marchelle Farrell is a writer, psychotherapist and amateur gardener. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, she's spent more than two decades attempting to become hardy after emigrating to the UK aged 19. She is deeply curious about the relationship between our external and internal landscapes, the patterns we reenact in relation to the land and how these might be changed. Marchelle spends her time getting muddy with her children in a cottage garden in Somerset, as well as writing about the things the garden teaches her. In 2021 she won the Nan Shepherd Prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing and her debut book, Uprooting (Canongate), is out in August.

ROOT + GROW • INSPIRATION FOR LIFE OUTDOORS

Gardening in the climate crisis • It’s no longer ignorable: the world is changing, and what we grow and how we grow it will have to change too. We asked eight experts what the garden of the future will look like

THE SCIENTIST • Dr Gina Cavan, applied climatologist at Manchester Metropolitan University

THE ECOLOGIST • Gemma Golding, senior ecologist at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

THE ACTIVIST • Ellen Miles, founder of the campaign Nature is a Human Right

THE DESIGNER • Tom Massey, award-winning ecological landscape designer

THE DESIGN STUDIO • We asked landscape designer Caroline Clayton of Viriditas Design Studio to imagine a biodiverse, climate-resilient space with all the key features our future gardens could include

THE ORGANIC FOOD EXPERT • Garden Organic’s knowledge officer Dr Anton Rosenfeld

THE URBAN LANDSCAPE DESIGNER • Darryl Moore, co-founder of urban landscape organisation Cityscapes

THE CLIMATE-CHANGE GARDENER • Sally Morgan is a botanist and garden writer

LET NATURE BE YOUR GUIDE • Award-winning ‘natural navigator’ Tristan Gooley can read a landscape and unlock its clues. We challenged him to look at this photograph and tell us where it is, what the terrain is like and if it’s going to rain…

WAYFINDING • Four signs in nature that will help you navigate your day

A SPORE SUBJECT • Could the new frontier of gardening involve the marvellous world of fungi? RHS plant pathologist and mycologist Dr Jassy Drakulic tells us why you should bring these incredible species into your garden

Making scents • A fragrant garden is a joy to be in, but harness the power of aromatic plants and you’ll double the rewards. Aromatherapy expert Julia Lawless explains what to grow and how to distil botanical scent

SEEDING NEW IDEAS • Fancy growing something new to bring to the table? Lucy Hutchings has tried and tested countless interesting edibles – and wants to inspire you to branch out too

Delayed gratification • Sowing biennials asks the patient gardener to be even more patient, but the pay-off is...