Pest battle with Basil — and how I won

I had a serious problem with bolting in hot dry weather especially with cilantro on my Basil 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 dual purpose as ornamental plant and culinary ingredient, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a terracotta pot collection on a sunny patio and improved my attention to planting in free-draining soil in the sunniest spot. sowing and planting out after last frost in spring was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.