Like Bloom magazine,

this first Bloom Book

gives a new and

unique sense to the

contemplation of

nature, a way to

embrace plants and

flowers with a fresh

eye and to witness

how much the natural

world inspires, and

even takes inspiration

from, the rest of the

creative world.

The inspiration behind Bloom Book was

the much-admired Bloom magazine

founded in 1998 in Paris by Li Edelkoort

to explore the fusion of plants and

fashion. The concept behind both the

magazine and the book puts the `culture'

into `horticulture'. Flowers, vegetables and

trees are an endless source of inspiration

for design, fashion, cosmetics and cuisine,

which in turn open new perspectives for

our vision of the world of plants, more

creative today than ever before.

From the symbolism of flowers to the

seasonal cycles of death and rebirth, from

homeopathic beauty treatments to edible

blossoms, the plant kingdom is a starting

point for much of human experience.

Bloom explores these issues in a quest for

a new understanding of nature : a return to

our roots, allying the sap of life and the

zest of human creativity to create a true

Art Nouveau.

168 color photographs