Travelling, as I did recently, with a tiny packet of dried fennel flowers from Monti Sibillini in my pocket, ensured I had fellow passengers on the plane buzzing round me like bees. Despite vac-packing, the voluptuous aroma could not be contained. It perfumed the air enticingly - and wove magic in cooking when I got it home.

Fennel has been praised and prized down the centuries by kings, warriors and herbalists alike. In Ancient Greece, fennel symbolised success. The Romans rejoiced in its healing properties and its power over evil. Charlemagne declared it essential to every imperial garden. The Anglo-Saxons placed fennel seeds in keyholes to prevent ghosts passing through. Culpepper wrote that fennel "stayeth the hiccup, taketh away nausea … and is used to make people more lean that are too fat".