Bloom Clock/How bloom clocks are used

Bloom clocks are often kept by gardeners and students in the fields of agriculture and horticulture as a way of getting to know the order and season in which plants come into flower. Aside from a learning tool (or even just a way of appreciating nature), bloom clocks can have some practical benefits as well.

For garden designers and landscape architects, bloom clocks are useful in coming up with good combinations of plants for a long bloom season and color combinations that are good to the eyes.

For horticulturists and agriculturists, having bloom time data serves a number of purposes, including:

1. Ensuring that there is a constant supply of nectar-producing plants, which in turn helps to ensure a constant supply of pollinating insects which are necessary for crop production.
2. As phenological indicators. For example, weed seeds often germinate when the Forsythias bloom, or certain pests might emerge when other flowers bloom.