Meet the plants: fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is highly prolific and widely cultivated for its edible, strongly flavored leaves and stalks. The bulb, foliage, and seeds of the fennel plant are used in culinary traditions around the world. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils where other agriculture may prove challenging.
As indicated by its scientific name, fennel is not a favorite to other plants in the garden and keeping it separate is recommended. Fennel will inhibit the growth of many of our favorite garden varieties. Not completely understood by botanists, the general rule is to plant fennel in its own space so it does not discourage or harm other plants growth.
Foeniculum vulgare has a rich and sordid past. In the 16th Century, fennel stalks were the weapon of choice for the Italian legend Benandanti, who fought against ill-intentioned spirits to defend crops. For the ancient Romans, fennel was mainly a salad vegetable, consummed raw. The stalks were also used to weave beehives. Medieval Europeans considered this magical herb hot flavored, so the leaves were served with cold food, to help find culinary balance. Fennel is a natural digestive, and can be consummed at the start or finish of a large meal. Puritans chewed fennel seeds in church, to stay awake and suppress hunger during long services. Many cultures in India and the Middle East use fennel seed in cooking as an essential spice. Roasted fennel seeds are consumed as an after-meal digestive and breath freshener. Fennel oil which contains estrogen is used as an anti-wrinkle agent in face creams and salves!
Pliny wrote that snakes used fennel to renew their eyesight and shed their skins, so consider this plant for divination or transformation.
fennel at solitary gardens
When it comes to companion planting, nobody likes fennel and segregation is recommended. Yet fennel is celebrated in so many cultures for its healing and unique flavors.
In what ways have you isolated or condemned a person or group that others didn’t like? Is it possible that this person or group has value or merit beyond your perception? Is it possible others love and adore them?
How can you celebrate the goodness of people you were told not to like (by society or by friends)? How can you see a more complete picture? How does a wholistic view or effort benefit you?
In a society guilded by imperialist, capitalist, white supremacist, hetero-patriarchy (#bellhooks) how do systemic practices of value relate to immigrants, undocumented people, prisoners, or others condemned for a single act in a complex lifetime?
