The Spice of Life

 My husband and I spent a couple of hours doing some tidying in the garden. My large herb garden is very neglected and overgrown so we thought cutting some thngs back might inspire further progress.

One plant that had really got away was my fennel plant. It had grown tall and started spreading seedlings so really needed chopping back. After talking to a friend the other week I thought I would harvest some of the dried seeds which taste like aniseed when you chew them.

I watched this busy bee on the flowers for a bit first then cut off a large number of seed pods - far more than I am likely to use but I hate the sense of waste!

I've spent this evening pulling off the seeds and now I have quite a large number of seeds - all for no cost! The corner of the herb garden is looking much tidier and I am going to now spend some time finding some recipes where I can use the seeds - something new to try in my cooking! I've even heard that fennel bulbs can be used when small so I might have to consider letting the remaing plant put out seedlings again next year so I can try harvesting those as well. Small steps - can't try too many new things at once!!