Fennel

Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum) has a delicate aniseed flavour and earns its keep in the kitchen as both salad and side dish. The catch is that spring sowings are quick to bolt — the main sowing therefore belongs in June and July, once the days are getting shorter. It needs constant moisture; drying out will reliably send it to flower. Earth up the bulbs with soil so they blanch white. Besides the bulb, the fronds and seeds are useful too — and hoverflies, the gardener's helpers, love the flowers.