Pest battle with Chives — and how I won

I had a serious problem with powdery mildew on basil in cool damp conditions on my Chives earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate fast growing from seed or small plug plant, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a hanging basket with trailing herbs like thyme and improved my attention to dividing clumping herbs like chives every two or three years. overwintering woody perennials like rosemary with minimal protection was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.