Stepping into the new greenhouse, it smells…kinda like damp licorice.
This isn’t a bad smell at all, incidentally. Outside now it’s all crisp, white…winter blandness; that particular fresh smell that accompanies the howl of blowing snow. It’s a scent you’d love to bottle, this clean frostiness, but it is particularly devoid of botanical stink. The greenhouses are a bit of a relief to that whiteness. Step inside, and even if it’s early morning, you still smell…earth.
But back to the licorice. The anise-y smell is coming from The Fennel Forest. I said they’d be good until Christmas, and they are, barely. A bit of frostbite, but that’s fine; chopped, tossed up with some crisp apples and a yogurt dressing…mmm.
Glad you came to visit!
Got something to say? Email me at fastweedpuller at gmail dot com.
fast grow the weeds 
El that is a wonderful blessing of greenhouses. I’d love to have a sniff. Can you bottle some and send it, please?
Have a wonderful new year. I’ve so enjoyed getting acquainted with your wonderful FGTW, and getting to know you, too, there in southwestern Michigan. One of the blessings of my year!
All the very best to you and yours…………
I can’t believe you still have fennel growing in the greenhouse, what an achievement. Fennel is but a distant memory in our garden but, with any luck (actually lots), I am looking forward to trying your suggestion on how to eat it this next summer.
If you really like the smell of snow or greenhouses (or 100’s of other strange items) you might want to check out Demeter Fragrance. They have been around for years making unique items which make great gifts. Snow is one of their scents.
I kid not, nor am I selling anything here. I found them in a small boutique years ago and just thought they were delightfully fun. They have a website which descibes the scents and you won’t beleive the list of scents!
You know that smell when you cut a tomato plant? Yep, they have a scent of that.
I enjoy you blog but tend to not comment but just wanted to let you know someone HAS bottled it.
Mmmmmmm. Fennel. I wonder, Susan, if they sell the smell of hot cement sidewalks after sprinklers have been sprayed on them. A smell from my childhood. . .
The smell of fennel is such a distinctive one. I always have trouble figuring out how to use it though. I like your idea with the apples. How else do you use it?
Aw Sharon thanks, and right back at you!!! Glad to get to know a kindred spirit, even if you *had* to up and move to chilly VT. I do wish you were closer and we could trade soups and stories. And likewise, warmest New Year’s wishes.
Mike, there are loads of ways to eat fennel, thankfully…this one I mentioned just appears to be the most family-pleasing. But yeah it’s toast here too really, as we just had a bit of a long cold snap. Sniff.
Susan, thanks! I almost thought you WERE selling something there for a second but that is so very unusual. And what a find! I can just see little bottles of that stuff in a cool shop, you know? So, well, thanks for commenting! Your comment has us thinking!
Stefani, how fun. I wonder what I would bottle. Not “chicken coop in July” or “fresh compost pile,” but I do like the new scent of spring. Keep walking out the back door hoping, and heck, it’s not even January yet.
MC, I love barbecued fennel. One of my favorite ways to eat it, and Belgian endive too, is halved and braised in milk. But you’re vegan, so maybe a nice broth with crunchy breadcrumbs on top. But yeah, mostly, it ends up in salads around here! The tops too.
yummy! can you add some chopped dates, or is that forbidden because they’re not local? I adore fennel with apples and dates…