April 15 Facebook 2025

‘Meet and Greet’ has happened! The celeb has arrived –


the pollination celebrity that is - a male Red Mason Bee emerging last week in the hot spring sunlight! Five of them at the last count, before Wednesday’s warmth gave in to the cold east wind. They are already squabbling over potential fatherhood. They emerge from their nursery,


warm themselves,

but as they bask, a competitor flies at them and they both whizz off in frenetic flight... a photographer’s nightmare. These three photos had many false starts and ‘deletes’!

Rosemary, in flower and feeding Honey Bees since February, is now at its peak 


with lush aromatic leaves for cooking, clever bright blue flowers to inspire, and old gnarled woody stems twisting and contorted to fascinate the eye.

Wildlife Gardening Tips: This one (R. officinialis Prostratus or Trailing Rosemary), at 30 years old is an ancient retainer of our herb strip and only takes up tiny soil space – a pocket in the top of a wall.


It is ideal for a dry small garden patch where it flourishes – with no maintenance and adored by bees 

In Photos 


a white dust is visible on bee head and buds and stems. This is powdery mildew, a fungal disease, common on many plants It flourishes when plants are overwatered and in humid conditions, which is very much what the garden was like in mid-late February when these two photos were taken. It is common in agricultural crops.

Non-chemical methods of control are Neem oil which manages powdery mildew by interfering with the fungus’ life processes and stopping spore production.

Sulphur and Fish Oil+ Sesame Oil mixture is also effective.

Milk, diluted with water 1:10 sprayed on to plants at first sign of white dust (or as a preventative) and continued weekly, controls as effectively as some popular chemical fungicides offered in garden centres. Milk’s efficiency has been scientifically proved with roses, grapes, pumpkins and squashes... via an interesting mechanism of whey protein in sunlight conditions producing oxygen in a chemical form which damages the fungus.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and vegetable oils are not consistently effective and can damage plants.

I am afraid I left my rosemary to its own devices and temporarily used the other pale-flowered rosemary for cooking; rain became less frequent, the weather warmed and humidity went down... Now there is no sign of fungus.

Powdery white mildew fungus is not toxic so is safe if accidentally eaten by humans. It does affect texture and flavour, so good to remove infected parts and thoroughly wash.


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