My 10-year-old common lilac, with an exquisite shape, succumbed to whatever the problem was. Although there are suckers aplenty coming from the base I have to ask myself if I really want to wait for this plant to rebuild itself.

Maybe I should dig it up and replant a James McFarland lilac in its place. Apparently the Canadian lilacs came through this siege of a winter unscathed. The McFarland to the east of the house, as well as the two Donald Wymans are looking excellent. Miss Kim is robust as are the dwarf Korean lilacs. But a common lilac? They are all over the place, some of them are at least 30 years old. My sadness at the loss of that lilac runs deep.

The Amur maples, even the red twig dogwoods are in need of a severe pruning. I am working at it. Really, if you have dead or not thriving shrubs and trees on your property, it is really satisfying to trim them. Once the dead branches are removed you will see the new growth and feel like there is something to look forward to. Honestly, you will, you may not believe me at this very moment, but go out there and start cutting and you will see what I mean.

The clematis tangutica, the very hardy yellow flowered clematis, took a hit. If yours looks like mine, just take your rake and run it through a few times, the dead branches will come out and you will see more green than you at first thought was there. The more trimming and cleaning up I do of plants that had a hard go this winter, the better the garden looks. My eye is no longer drawn to the half dead Amur maple. Now I see a half alive shrub. Not bad.

Action is so much more rewarding than passivity. You probably have everything planted that you are going to plant. Now comes the tending. This has to be the best part of gardening, just taking care of what you have planted. I have been watering for the last several days. As I write this, rain is in our near future and these plants certainly could use a good drenching. There is nothing that can replace real rain. Especially with the Homer city water rates spiking. Get creative with your water source. As I have mentioned, we have a catchment system and I am very grateful for it.

We need to be thinking about what trees and shrubs are looking good. I have already mentioned the Canadian lilacs. The mock orange "Blizzard," all three of them, are looking excellent. And I thought those would be damaged, if not outright dead. The mountain ash didn't flinch. Hmmm. The list is short, but there you go.

I have been removing tons and tons of forget-me-nots from the perennial beds. They will never be gone. They create dense mats and seed all over the place. What a bane. I would love it if poppies would take over, but no. How can they? Even if they are trying, I am probably pulling them up with the forget-me-nots. (It is even troublesome to type their name, try it.) Plus, I now have too much bare ground. Once the muscari is done blooming, which will be soon, there won't be anything there.

And, I have decided that I don't care. I will have garden parties anyway.

Because I have an imposing fence surrounding the garden, it is not readily visible. My neighbors joke that they only see me when I go to the mail box. Which is why I love to invite them into the garden, it's like a surprise.

Think about this: My garden is far from perfect. No photographers are knocking at my door. But I am going to have parties note the plural anyway. And soon. Why not? This is my garden and I love it no end.

And you should love yours, and you should be having parties too. So there, get your list ready. Gardens are to be shared and enjoyed, perhaps not by the general public but by your friends and neighbors. And don't worry about the weather: Rain or shine, have that party.

Rosemary Fitzpatrick has been gardening with gusto in Homer for 30 years. This year marks the 19th anniversary of her column.