Magazine Concept: Blue Ridge Blooms

Blue Ridge Blooms is dedicated to showcasing those often-overlooked native plants, highlighting to gardeners and landscapers their versatility and attributes. Similarly, by including information on where in the Blue Ridge mountains each species is commonly found, readers can decide for themselves whether a plant would be a good fit and even look at the wild growing examples for comparison. Nature observers can plan hiking trips around the blooming season, and landscapers can consider sturdier native trees instead of the frail and invasive ornamentals commonly used. Each issue contains a full-spread article on a plant species under threat to raise awareness. Short of Wikipedia or flipping through a lengthy encyclopedia, there are too few places to expose common residents to the variety of plant life around them. For residents of the Blue Ridge without access to the internet, this is an even bigger ordeal.