My Outdoor Aromatherapy!

The culinary and medicinal usage of herbs is something that has long interested me.  I find that food flavored with fresh herbs is much tastier than when using the dried herbs found on the grocer's shelf.  Also, homegrown herbs seem to be tad more potent when used in a healing way.   I want to have a huge herb garden!  My aim in this is a tad lacking in reality as my garden thus far is not nearly as large as I wish it to be.  There are still lots of herbs that would prove most helpful if I could only find the space to plant them!  For now, however, I will be happy with those that are flourishing in the small allotted area. Some day..some day..my herb garden will be large and overflowing with the most delightful smelling herbs around!  One of my favorite herbs is Florence Fennel.  Not only does this provide me with the seeds that I use in teas but, also, with greens and roots!  The root of the Florence Fennel is a wide "hand-shaped" thing that is most tasty stir fried and tossed with other vegetables or roasted with a bit of olive oil and then sprinkled with balsamic vinegar and fresh basil.  My daughter was the one that introduced me to the usage of Fennel Root.  As for the greens, I snip the tender ones to be dried and then use them as I would Dill Weed.

While out and about this morning, I noticed a new aroma in the air!  Sure, the Confederate Jasmine and Seven Sisters Roses are still in bloom but they are waning and I was sure this scent was not from them.  I wandered a bit..following the scent that wafted in on the soft Bay breeze.  That, itself, told me that my elusive, aromatic plant was on the south side of the garden!  Ahh..deductive reasoning! Actually, I already knew what was filling the air with fine aroma of what reminds me of licorice or Star Anise!  While I am  not a big fan of eating licorice, I love the smell and Star Anise is an incredibly wonderful herb! Sure enough, once I followed the path to where the Fennel was growing, the aroma was delightful......and there was a squirrel..nibbling on my Fennel!!!  Arrgh!  NO!!  I shooed the squirrel away.  He can go raid the bird feeders!  To be honest, the squirrel had not done a tremendous amount of damage to the plant as I truly believe he was more trying to dig up an acorn that was buried last fall.  The Fennel plant multiplied and covered up said acorn!  No gnaw marks were actually on the plant but digging had taken place near the root.  At this point, I noticed that the Fennel plant was huge!  It was higher than my head!  The yellow blooms that would soon turn to the coveted seeds swayed above me like some tall umbrella!  No wonder the yard smelled so good!

~Just as an added note which might come in handy during the warmer months.  The aromatic Fennel is said to be highly disliked by fleas!  Powder made from dried Fennel plant can be scattered about in stables and pet areas to rid them of the pesky (and harmful) critters.  I wish I would have known this a few years ago when we were fostering the pup, Sunny!  As with so many strays and rescued dogs, she was infested with fleas.  The rescuers, Elizabeth and Robbie, fought the critters and thought they had won the battle.  When it came time for Sunny to stay with us for a while, the fleas came back with a vengeance!  The ones she had and ones from the surrounding wooded area, wreaked havoc on our place for a few weeks.  Only a strict regimen of baths for the dogs and spraying with chemicals (much to my disgust!) rid the place of the pests.  Had I known then about the Fennel, I could have placed parts of the plants in the dogs' bedding.  Sure..Sunny and Ms. Ez would have smelled like black jelly beans but that would have been much nicer than the chemical smell!~