Ferula

If you visit the garden in late spring, early summer, you can't fail to notice tall flowering spires, erupting from a froth of fine foliage. The sulphur-yellow rounded heads of small flowers are a magnet to insects and provide a dramatic vertical, especially against a beautiful blue sky. These fennels are in the same family, Apiaceae, as the more traditional culinary fennel, Foeniculum and also have been used in flavourings, medicines and incense. There are many species of fennel across Europe and Asia, with a concentration in Turkey. They are suitable for a sunny position and well drained soil. With their large tap-root, they can survive spells of drought, however this makes them difficult to move once established.

As with all umbellifers, the heads of numerous small flowers provide a huge resource of nectar and pollen for a wide range of insects from tiny pollen-beetles to large hoverflies. The seeds will also be taken by larger-billed seed-eaters such as Greenfinches; studies have shown that supplementing a chicken's diet with ferula seeds can improve egg-laying output. Plants occasionally establish in the wild outside of cultivation in the south-east of the country, and while these may persist for several years, there are few signs of potentially worrying spread.