For the seed just cut off the dead flower heads and dry them. The seeds will come off just by scrunching in your hands. They go well with anything porky. Also fishy. But I’ll try any herb in any dish. (Except maybe peppermint!) Don’t be bound by rules. Traditional combinations are tried and tested but there’s no reason not to experiment.

Bronze fennel doesn’t have a bulb. If you dig it up you’ll find a tough, stringy tap root. I don’t use it because the leaves and seeds provide all the fennel flavour I need. The root and stems are too tough to use as a vegetable but can also be used for flavour. And digging up the root means killing the plant, so no fennel next year, although it also self sows.

Huh, didn't know it didn't have any bulb ... I figured it wouldn't have what we generally think of as a fennel bulb, but tap root certainly was not what I was picturing.

i was also forgetting it was a perennial ... perhaps it needs to find a home not in a pot, and it can try again for the caterpillars next year.

The ‘bulb’ on Florence fennel isn’t really a bulb, as in underground storage body. It’s the swollen stem and leaf bases and it grows above the ground, not under. If your fennel had a ‘bulb’ you’d be able to see it. If you try to pull your fennel up you’ll see just how tenacious that tap root is. Although Florence fennel and bronze fennel are the same species they’ve been bred over the years to provide different edibles. Herb fennel stems make very tough eating. You’d need to be desperate.

Btw, because of the taproot pot culture isn’t optimum for herb fennel, unless it’s a very deep pot. It grows above shoulder height in the open ground and the root can go down a foot.

Agree with floral. Bronze fennel is bulbless but is a great herb to have in the garden. Its flowers attract a whole host of different pollinators. Don't be put off by the fact that you didn't have any swallowtails on it, if you have more than just this plant growing in your landscape they will eventually find it. I will say, however, that since you let the seeds mature on the plant you have no doubt let some drop and bronze fennel is a rampant self seeder. You are going to have lots of young fennel sprouts popping up next year.

Rodney

And shoots:) Flower shoots that is. I’m joining in the conversation to suggest harvesting the fennel pollen during bloom time next year. We like to edge the fatty side of a pork chop with pollen and hold it vertically in the frying pan to crisp up the edge (Mario Batali recipe - I used to like that guy...). Also delicious on vegetables.