After some rains last week, the trees and lilacs have finally leafed out, and the old lilacs are in full bloom! 
The miniature lilac, on the other hand, is still leafing out with flower buds on it.
Got outside Thursday for about 5 hours, then again on Saturday for another 5 hours! It felt so good! Saturday, I spent the great majority of time completely redoing the plantings around the taller birdbath. It was way too crowded with plants there. 
I scaled it down from 9 plantings, surrounding that birdbath, to 6 plants, giving them more room to spread! 
My city gardens just are not very roomy. 
The list includes 1 Niobe Clematis, 3 hosta, and 2 'Helix' daylilies. Then I split a Northern Sea Oats, that had also been crowded in there, with the other 8 plantings to begin with, and planted each of them just about 12 inches down each side from the corner. The idea is to soften that corner of the garage and give the clematis more shade at the ground level, even though it is mulched heavily, but that corner receives the harsh, late afternoon to evening sun, along with the morning to early afternoon sun. It has taken three years, but Niobe is finally climbing significantly up the teepee trellis I put together! Figuring out how to soften this corner, to my satisfaction, has taken nearly 7 years, and I think it has finally come together for the long-term. I'll probably add creeping phlox ground cover there, bc I just love the splash of Spring color it provides, and I will possibly add more Creeping Thyme there too.
I had three 'Helix' daylilies planted around the birdbath, before redoing it, and I lost one of them to the extended cold weather. 
I thought I had lost a second one, but it has finally emerged, and I moved it to the veggie garden, and planted the third one in the old tree garden, after redoing things around the birdbath. Last Fall, I planted two additional 'Helix' specimens temporarily growing in the veggie garden to overwinter. I had some composting going on with adding last Summer's grass clippings in the veggie garden (I didn't plant veggies last year), before I planted those two 'Helix' and another CV there, last Fall. Then I had the DH dump the Fall mower clippings there, and one 'Helix' got buried a bit too far down. I figured I would lose that specimen by this Spring, but it managed to sprout , and it grew about as tall as a celery stalk! 
:lol: I clipped the foliage down to about 4 inches and planted it along with the other "veggie garden" specimen, by the birdbath, and I hope it recovers! 
The abridged version: The two "veggie garden" 'Helix', planted there last Fall, were transplanted to around the birdbath, and two of the original three "birdbath" 'Helix' moved elsewhere, and the third was given a "dignified burial" in the boneyard.
Three of the four hosta remained in the "birdbath garden", and the fourth was transplanted to the NE tree garden.
Jasper was his usual entertaining self. He chased bees, stalked birds and "hid" behind the not-so-dense clumps of daffodils! 
