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be careful with the fennel, it can self-seed all over the place and become a bit of a thug
On the other hand, you can grow Florence or bulb fennel which you eat as a crop before it seeds but it still can provide a home for swallow tail butterflies to lay their eggs. The caterpillars are very civilised and only eat the foliage fronds and they're rather gorgeous too. I grow fennel every year after having these turn up just the once about 5 years ago. Live in hope, I say.
We like fresh fennel in salads and baked with goat's cheese and pine kernel or roast with Mediterranean veggies so waiting for caterpillars is no hardship.
I've got fennel and yes it sefl-seeds but they're easy to spot and remove before they get too big and they look gorgeous in winter with the frost on. Do like the idea of the bulb version for swallow tails tho
I'm growing nettles too. No I haven't gone mad - they've got quite shallow roots which run so to counter that I'm planting a clump in a buried container as you would mint. They've been in a container that's no more than 10" deep since last August and they've made a lovely stand already so it's working.
I'm just desperate to get mor beutterflies in the garden so I'll try anything!
WIll go for the angelica sage and maybe the valerian this year
Winter savory is good for bees. Mine are covered in them when it's in flower, which is most of the summer.
I use the herb when cooking beans and peas. [anti flatulance]
I had a few different types of bee's in the garden last year, hadn't realised there was a variety which visit, it made me re-think which flowers to grow, so many flowers are grown which bee's can't get nectar from.
I bought a packet of 8 varieties of herbs from the poundland shop, in it there is Parsley, Basil, Chives, Mint, Dill, Thyme, Marjoram and Garlic Chives
