Bloom Magazine UK

It’s just as accurate to say gardeners are playful – and if we’re not, we certainly should be. Growing plants and creating a joyful space to immerse ourselves in should be all about play: experimenting with forms, colours and plant characteristics, f

From the Latin niger (black) and ella (indicating a mini form), the genus name Nigella nods to the tiny black seeds found in its handsome seedhead. It’s a pod that forms pretty fast once the flowers have opened, giving you the briefest of time (just

It’s the first ritual of a visit to the beach: scrambling up a wall of sand before arriving at the top and getting your first sight of the sea, then rolling happily down the other side. But dunes are more than just fun obstacles. They’re a vital part

The principles of traditional garden design will tell you to start by listing your demands from your plot: a shed, a dining zone, a barbecue area… the idea is to create an ‘outdoor room’ to extend your living space. Lock those requirements in first,

Hemp has come a long way. There is evidence of hemp cultivation dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, and a ‘health drink of cannabis nectar’ features in the first cookbook ever published (by gastronomist Bartolomeo Platina in 1475). In Tudor England i

We are all foragers deep down and have the instinct to find food. We also enjoy searching for things: I’m sure our modern love for search-based puzzles is a way of satiating this desire, and it’s something we’re born with. Kids love foraging and in m

The climate of our isles is famously variable, often cold and very often wet. But many plants associated with more exotic locations can happily grow in the UK. It’s true most will need some shelter, and many will prefer an urban microclimate (where t

Lawns have a bad rep, and with good reason. Cultivating monocultures of grass provides very little for wildlife. But with a bit of creativity, a lawn can become a thriving, biodiverse artwork that still allows space for relaxing and playing on. For i

Most gardeners have heard of using tea made from comfrey leaves to feed tomatoes, but it’s quite amazing how many other plants can easily bring health and vitality into our gardens. A lot of plants are chock-full of really useful minerals, trace elem

Cuttings are a great way of creating more plants for free, each a copy of the parent plant. Getting cuttings to strike (to root and grow into plants) is often easier than you might think, and it’s worth experimenting with a range of your favourite pl

Few genera earn their keep in the way that Salvia (sage) does. For us, salvias are indispensable plants that start to steal the show from midsummer but can flower right through into winter. With the right mix of plants, a sunny or partially shaded (a

The far southwest of England is a mixture of surfing beaches, rocky coves and rolling farmland. Ancient bridleways crisscross the countryside, brooks trickle down from hilltops through dark glens to the sea. Burdock, hogweed, meadowsweet, sorrel and

Also known as ‘mound’ or ‘hill’ culture, hugelkultur originates from Germany and is essentially a steep-sided, mounded growing bed consisting of wood at the base/centre followed by layers of organic materials. Mounds can often be created entirely for

Most gardeners have, at one time or another, become horticultural beneficiaries through the gifting of plants from one generation to the next. But it wasn’t until recently that I contemplated the notion of inheriting an actual garden and all that thi

Like so many of us I am drawn to spaces that feel naturally wild, environments that give a sense of being reclaimed by nature – they hold something powerful and energising that calls to so many of us. I’ve been reading about the Japanese practice of

The Crab Museum is in Kent; for more see crabmuseum.org /@crabmuseum ■

Think about farming and it’s likely that tractors, muddy fields and wellies spring to mind. Yet all along the UK coastline you’ll find farmers in waders and yellow oilskins heading out to tend their ‘herd’. On rugged coastlines and in picturesque his

It all began with a garden and its gateposts. In 1998, when Rosie Pearson moved into Asthall Manor, she not only took on a house and 18 acres of land, but also the weight of history: the 17th-century Cotswolds property was once home to the aristocrat

Rachel Carson’s magnum opus, Silent Spring, was published in 1962. In what was her last book, Carson, a marine biologist, took aim at the devastation caused by the pesticide and agricultural industry, particularly its use of the widely adopted but hi

There’s a long and rich history of dyeing fabrics with plants, and the methods that we use today haven’t changed a great deal over the millenia. We still draw on ancient knowledge and practices and take inspiration from the past. For example, Scottis

I don’t know where the impulse comes from, but I have always wanted to customise things. When I see something with a set purpose, my mind immediately whirs into action, finding different ways to use it or display it. One summer, while planting up som

Making natural cordage (essentially cord or string) is a simple and soothing process, yielding something that’s not only useful, but beautiful too. You can make cordage from many fibrous plants, including bindweed, rosebay willowherb and brambles, bu

SERVES 4 ο 50g fine salt ο 50g caster sugar ο 4 mackerel fillets, pin boned ο 65g sunflower seeds ο 15g bread ο ½ clove garlic ο cucumber (about one third of a whole) ο 200ml milk ο 5g olive oil ο 15ml sherry vinegar ο 3g fine salt ο 660g gooseberrie