In ancient Egyptian mythology, the blue lotus gave rise to life. The ancient Egyptians believed that in a world of water and darkness, a blue lotus sprang up and in its petals a divine child streamed light and banished the darkness. This lily was use

It’s a wet Saturday in July and I’m standing in a soggy field near Cirencester, Gloucestershire under the type of steel-grey sky and stair-rod rain that sends even the hardiest folk running inside. I’m told the first day of the Land Skills Fair enjoy

Welcome to the deep valleys of the Peak District, where a centuries-old pagan ritual continues as an elaborate, annual community tradition. Each weekend from May until September, one of the area’s pretty, stone-built towns and villages holds a ceremo

Calixta Killander is the founder of Flourish, a farm growing directly for chefs, florists, a Community Supported Agriculture veg box scheme and the farm shop Flourish ο 60 acres ο Hildersham, Cambridgeshire ο flourishproduce.co.uk What was the land l

Since Bloom’s first issue in autumn 2018 this letter has begun with the line, Nature is … a beautiful beast; a mood transformer; a battery charger; the way in; space; freedom; the future; now; sustaining; transformative; rooting; playful; resilient;

The influence of the moon on our planet is undeniable and has been recognised, researched and documented for millennia. Its obvious manifestation is the rising and ebbing tides of the oceans, due to the moon’s gravitational pull. Its effect on people

Dahlias are the key focal flower in my floristry from high summer to the first frosts of autumn. Not only are they hard-working and generous, but with recent breeding the range of colours and forms available is breathtaking. It would be easy to devel

I have long worked with dried flowers and recently have been drawn to flowers that are not traditionally considered for drying. I’m fascinated by so-called weeds that grow abundantly – when taken out of their habitat, I’ve found they are some of the

For generations, gardeners around the world have sown, saved and exchanged their seeds. These seeds became adapted to local soils and climate, and their stories are woven into the history and culture of the communities that grew them. Heirloom seeds

Vervain is a hardy perennial with lobed leaves and tiny mauve flowers that sparkle on their delicate stems. It is used as a ‘dream teacher’ by indigenous North Americans (because of vivid and prophetic dreams induced by the plant) and was a sacred he

The phrase ‘guerrilla gardening’ is likely familiar to you. It’s about cultivating your neighbourhood’s neglected corners, transforming bleak streets into vibrant patches of plant life through good old-fashioned grassroots action. But have you yet da

When we grow plants, particularly edible plants, we are manipulating nature. We clear weeds (take away food sources from wild insects and animals), clear around the edges of our plot (take away habitat) and attempt to produce the tastiest, juiciest f

For my first experimental mix, I’m choosing a rather racy bright yellow shallow pot (you can also use a terracotta one, as pictured above). I’m going for a tropical blend with a yellow variegated croton (Codiaeum ‘Banana’) as a houseplant centrepiece

As a good physics teacher will tell you, potential energy depends on position. This can be demonstrated by holding something heavy but previously innocuous – an iron doorstop, for example – above a chattering pupil’s head. Gardens obey a similar rule

Before we were sentient beings there was stone. Stone has been on Earth for hundreds of millions of years and our relationship with it began 3 million years ago when the earliest tools were created by our ancestor species. Stone went on to be critica

Catnip is a sweet, mint-like aromatic plant also known as catmint and catwort. Mildly psychedelic, it brings a sense of wellbeing known as ‘the mellows’. Some say they experience a mild ‘buzz’ and the occasional hallucination, which they liken to a s

@thetemperategardener | radicle.substack.com Gardening has taught me so much, not least about myself and the lens through which I view life. One of the valuable lessons it has taught me is to question my ideas of perfection and of striving and, relat

Brixton Station Road in south London has always been a lively place. It runs alongside a stretch of Victorian railway arches that have long been used by small businesses, most famously by the West Indian and African diaspora who moved in from the 195

Even though I’m a cut flower farmer, growing peonies for cutting always feels rather decadent as it takes precious space and time to cultivate these luscious beauties successfully. The reward for giving them a prime spot and waiting for four years to

The word ‘psychedelic’ comes from the Greek psychē, meaning ‘soul’, and dēloun, meaning ‘to reveal’, translating as mind-manifesting. The mildly psychoactive plants I talk about here don’t induce frightening hallucinations or distorted thinking, as c