Yard is blooming

I thought spring would never come this year. But things are looking up. The bluebonnets are sparse due to the drought. I have only about 5 plants in the backyard and only a sad sprinkling of them in the front lane, which is usually busting with them.
My Clematis is back this year. The past two years, it only gets about a foot tall, puts out one bloom, and either dies back or just sits there the rest of the season. Well, it is now a little over a foot tall and the one bloom is out. This is a bigger one that the previous years, so maybe good things will happen with it this year.



















I have a lilac surprise. The blooms so far this year have been tiny and stunted. This morning I happened to look up at the right time and spotted this. Can you see it? It is a set of full sized blooms!!! And the smell....ahhhhh!
When you walk out into the backyard, the breeze blowing from the west brings a heady scent of flowers. It took me a little bit of time to figure out what was smelling so delicious. The Dianthus around the satellite pole are in full bloom. These are a very pretty pink. I just bought a couple more pots of them to fill in the other side.....only in red.
Other things are coming on that I will put up pictures of as they make a showing. My native iris are starting to bud out and I have a Stargazer lily with 3 or 4 buds on it.