VAL BOURNE adores the adaptable aromatic vegetable, fennel

I first grew Florence fennel when I was a very young gardener due to a happy accident. I rushed into a shop and grabbed a packet of fennel seed and planted them only to discover that the fennel plants I had produced had swollen stems above the roots.

I didn't know what to do with it. So I decided to do the classic braised fish and fennel dish and it was delicious. For those of you who have never eaten Florence fennel, think of aniseed balls, or Pernod if you're a sophisticate.

Florence fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum) is equally good with white meat or with potato, sliced and cooked in the oven. The aromatic vegetable dates from the 17th century and it's an Italian staple known there as finnochio. There are four different types - Bologne, Palerme, Sicilie and Florence and it's known to be good for the digestion.

The beauty of this crop is that it only takes two weeks to appear and then ten to 12 weeks to mature, given fertile soil and moisture. It shouldn't be allowed to dry out for the first two or three weeks. If it does, it is likely to bolt.

Early June is the ideal time to sow this tender annual. It's a tap-rooted umbellifer which prefers light soil and, like all tap-rooted plants, it resents being transplanted. So you have to sow it direct in drills.

You can carry on sowing fennel until late July if you wish to, although you might have to protect or cloche it should the weather turn frosty. The drills need to be thinned so that the plants are 5in (12cm) apart and you harvest the crop when the bulbs reach the size of a large apple. Seeds of Italy have a good range.

At the moment, I'm enjoying spinach, lettuces and the last of the asparagus. Tradition demands that the last asparagus cutting should take place on Midsummer's Day, June 21. This will allow the crop to recover.

A good asparagus bed should last 30 years, if weeded and fed, and you can either raise asparagus from seed or buy sets. A sunny well-drained position is desirable. I'm growing Connovers Colossal', an old early variety. But if you have got room it's worth planting a later variety as well, like Martha Washington'.

Waterperry Gardens, near Wheatley, are holding a Midsummer Concert on June 21 from 6.30pm. Tickets, which are non-refundable, are available from 01844 339254 and the concert will go ahead except in extreme weather conditions. Or you can pay on the day. Adult tickets cost £15, children aged 18 and under £12.