Summer Fennel Flowers
This morning I found lots of things wrong in the gardens to take pictures of that will make good subjects for future posts, but today I'm just going to focus on one thing that is doing really well. My bronze fennel is lovely! I don't like the taste of fennel and don't ever harvest it. I don't really know why I planted it years ago back here when I put a vegetable garden in before I gave up and turned this area back over to the rabbits that rule the domain. Obviously the varmints feel the same way I do about fennel and so it lives on untouched, year after year. It is now about six feet tall and blooms profusely all summer with flowers that attract songbirds, butterflies and beneficial insects. The bronze foliage has reverted back to mostly green this time of year but it is light and feathery and pretty. I guess I really do like fennel after all - just not in my salad!
I LOVE my Bronze Fennel growing in the garden but like you, I have never harvested it to actually use in a salad or such. I have harvested the "umbrellas" and turned them upside down to dry in the garage while I doing my seed catching for the season. The aroma is amazing! Unfortunately, my fennel has not been doing as well this year. Yours looks spectacular! I do have a rather large tunnel underneath the plant though. Perhaps someone has moved in to nibble on the bulb.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this picture. Thank goodness it reseeds itself quite freely so I can look forward to one like yours next year:)
Sheila your fennel is amazing girl!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have it in my garden ... I love the smell of it.
I grow dill in pots and in the garden itself ... to help the roses ward off bad insects .. seems to do some good I think.
I also love the smell of dill.
But wow .. I have never seen a fennel tree like that before! LOL
Joy