Essentially, all spices are dry. And there are times when the herbs we use are dried as well.

Blooming is really nothing more than heating, and in some cases, toasting herbs (most often in oil) and spices ( in oil or in a dry pan) before adding them to your dish. Think of the dried herbs and spices as a locked box, filled with inaccessible flavor treasures, and the heat you apply as the key to unlocking the box, and bringing those flavors out into the open.