The Fennel Bronze, 'Foeniculum vulgare', has stunningly beautiful, purple feathery plumes that provide a lacy contrast in the vegetable or flower garden. The Bronze Fennel is an absolutely dazzling, hard to find Fennel, that is used primarily for ornamental value and has tasty foliage and seeds. The tall feathery, smoky purple foliage provides a beautiful accent with pink and white roses or any other contrasting flower color. The Bronze Fennel attracts butterflies. The swallowtail butterfly lays eggs on fennel.
The seed produced by the Bronze Fennell is used for flavoring cookies, breads, and cakes. Fresh leaves can be sprinkled on salads or used in salad dressings. Plant in the spring 2 weeks before the last average frost date. Fennel does best in well drained, sandy soils with lots of organic matter. They need to be kept moist.