Fill the world with fennelโฆat least thatโs what Godโs plan feels like in our summer garden! Our few fall seedlings and winter tufts have grown and become a forest of smoky foliage and gentle golden flower crowns that mega-dazzle! I am in awe that this cool season annual is still with us. Our dill, celery, carrots, and parsley plantsโthe full range of herbs and spices with umbrella-shaped flowersโare long gone in summerโs sizzle. Have you had a plant surprise you this simmer with mesmerizing presence? There is nothing like it! Add yours to the comment section below and inspire all of us for next yearโs garden planning.
How did I decide to grow fennel? Captivated by God-crazed curiosity, I tend to stick to Bible species when choosing new plants for our yard. Most translations of Scripture do not name fennel, and none of my favorite resources on plants of the Bible include fennel in their plant lists, though the spice is native to the Mediterranean region.
However, a special family story led me to dig deeper into this flavorful umbel herbโฆarenโt our gardens a sweet collection of our unique family sagas?? Grandmaโs iris, dadโs boysenberries, cedar saplings from a friendโs cabin in the woodsโour gardens become living, botanical scrapbooks holding holy connections to the ones we love.
Choosing Fennel
It all began with a salad. My mother and I had an amazing opportunity to visit New York before the corona, and a meandering walk through Little Italy one evening landed us at Amiciโs for dinner. My mom order the Tri – Colore salad, a mix of bitter herbsโ radicchio and endive, topped with a surprise ingredient, sliced fennel bulb. She loved the salad, the evening, the trip togetherโฆfilled with cherished chats, layered with memories of her childhood trip to New York with her mother and grandmother. Once home, she promptly recreated the salad for my stepdad, her way of capturing and sharing the treasured time together, increasing the love.
Amiciโs salad inspired me to try making fennel-infused vinegar, which turned a lovely rose color from the bronze fennel leaves. Click here for easy directions on Making Herbal Vinegars for Salads from Ann McCormick, Herbโn Cowgirl
You must know my motherโs passion when she discovers a delicious recipe. Itโs enthralling! Her zeal for herbal ingredients has infused my whole life with pursuit of such fresh tastes. Mirroring her enthusiasm, I planted fennel โsmokey bronzeโ last fall, hoping to serve her a homegrown version of our New York salad, a fun way to continue our adventure.
Then I stumbled upon it: a chance mention of the old world herb in the Amplified Bible translation.
When he has leveled its surface, does he not cast abroad [the seed of] dill or fennel and scatter cummin [a seasoning], and put the wheat in rows, and barley in its intended place, and spelt [an inferior kind of wheat] as the border? [And he trains each of them correctly] for his God instructs him correctly and teaches him. Isaiah 28:25-26 AMPC
O Lord, what greater joy! It is a small connection; and of course, we are free to plant any plants in our gardens. Yet how much more endearing to connect plants to Godโs Word, to find some Word or phrase that seems to describe our sensational experience and place it in the context of Godโs story.
Fill the World
Enamored by the multitude of dawn-hued flowers, I have gathered a few Words reflecting Godโs desire to fill the world with the knowledge of Him, His wonderful counsel and magnificence that Isaiah recounted. Take these verses to the abundantly blooming flowers in your summer garden for a sweet memory of your own with the One who plans to fill you with His love.
When they shall rush in unto Jacob, Israel shall blossom and bud, and they shall fill the face of the world with seed. Isaiah 27:6 DRA
Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, โBe fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. Genesis 9:1 NIV
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psalm 81:10 MEV
โฆas surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earthโฆ Numbers 14:21 NIV
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the seas. Habbakuk 2:14 MEV
You will know Christโs love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God. Ephesian 3:19 NOG
All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent. Isaiah 28:29 NIV
You repopulated the nation, you expanded its joy. Oh, theyโre so glad in your presence! Festival joy! The joy of a great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings. Isaiah 9:3 The Message
Hereโs the knowledge you need: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be My witnesses, first here in Jerusalem, then beyond to Judea and Samaria, and finally to the farthest places on earth. Acts 1:8 VOICE
Make sure that no one misses out on Godโs wonderful kindness. Hebrews 12:15 CEV
Prayer: O Lord, how wonderful you are! Down to the details of lacy leaves and pinpointed fennel flowers, in and through the intricacies of my day, my heart, and my family life, You know me. And how I long to know you back! Thank you for your Words that teach me, guide me, instruct and delight meโฆ.and thank You for all the flowers You use to bring me back to your Words when I lose focus. Yes, Lord, let your loving-kindness fill the world. Energize my hospitality so that through me You make sure no one misses out on your wonderful grace.
Reneeโs Garden Seeds is my source for โSmokey Bronzeโ fennel seed, Foeniculum vulgare var. Visit www.reneesgarden.com/fennel-smokey-bronze (affiliate link) to order seeds for your fall garden
Find more Herbs & Spices from the Bible for your garden in the Garden in Delight Plant Guide, www.gardenindelight.com/plant-guide/
Learn more about the Bibleโs Umbelliferae herbs in a light-hearted poem โU is for Umbelsโ from A-to-Z Primer of Plants from Godโs Word
Enjoy another Devotion on Isaiah 28:23-29 in โHe Knows,โ in the Intimacy with God in the Garden series in Godโs Word for Gardeners Bible, page 795
Photo Credits: ยฉ2021 Shelley S. Cramm
Scripture References
CEV notes Scripture quotations taken from the Contemporary English Version Copyright ยฉ 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
DRA denotes the DouayโRheims Bible is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the Catholic seminary English College, Douai, France. It was first published in America in 1790 by Mathew Carey of Philadelphia. Several American editions followed in the 19th and early 20th centuries; prominent among them the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition Version. This edition of the text has been converted from the 1899 edition of the John Murphy Company, Baltimore, Maryland, and is in the Public Domain.
KJV denotes Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version published in 1611, authorized by King James I of England, which is public domain in the United States.
MEV denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright ยฉ 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.
MSG denotes Scripture quotations taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright ยฉ 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries.
NIV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Versionยฎ, NIVยฎ. Copyright ยฉ 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.ยฎ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The โNIVโ and โNew International Versionโ are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.ยฎ
NOG denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Names of God Bible copyright ยฉ 2011 by Baker Publishing Group, 6030 East Fulton Road, Ada, MI 49301. All Rights Reserved.
VOICE denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Voiceโข. Copyright ยฉ 2012 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
I am always thankful for your Bible-based plantings in word and soil, my friend!
I found that the Aramaic Bible in Plain English has ‘fennel’ in at least one verse … Isaiah 28:25 “Is it not whenever he levels its surface, he scatters the fennel, and he sows cumin, and casts wheat and barley and rye at its borders?” Have you other references?
A little history/science lesson I gleaned off the internet- “Fennel Seed FENNEL (Foeniculum vulgare)Fennel seeds were often carried to church in small pouches and eaten to ward of hunger during long sermons and thus gained the nickname meeting seeds. Fennel seeds and syrup are often used to calm the stomach, perhaps making meeting a little quieter.”
Do you suppose this is so???? ๐ Blessings dear Sister!, You are in my prayers! Rose Naomi
Well, I do find the seeds very tasty!! I guess our ancestors did, too!! Thanks so much Rose, take care!!
Thank you for sharing โourโ story..such a fabulous, memorable trip to NYC! And yes, that salad made a huge impression on me and have shared it with not only my husband but many friends upon return. I often use sliced or chopped fennel bulb in soups & stews but have been delighted with raw fennel in salads. And now to know it truly is one of Godโs Bible plants! Should have known.๐
Thanks, mom!! So glad to share you with all our God’s Word for gardening friends ๐ Much love!