Update #3

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Late edit: This morning, Jason talked with the neighbor and got the okay to cut down the tree between our front yards. So, more sun for the plum tree!
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Let's start with a couple photos of Aubrey.




And now for the garden. The violas are doing great, and the sweet peas are surpassing them in height. The blue jays are using the basket fibers for their nests.
I saw a bluejay in the basket and I was thinking, what could he possibly be doing in there? Then I saw the fibers strewn around and figured it out.

Here's the squash (foreground) which Jason planted just before the sprouts finally came out of the ground from the seeds we planted for your visit. Beets (background) are 3 inches tall. We haven't thinned out the wildflowers yet.

The clematis is growing like gangbusters.

Here are the pole beans Jason planted by the fence, behind the asparagus.

Speaking of asparagus, 2 of the 3 plants didn't come up this year, at least not yet. The third one produced maybe 7 asparagus. We probably shouldn't have picked the 4 shoots we picked; I just read that you have to wait until the third season, and this is the second. I looked up why the other two plants didn't produce and it could be overwatering or underwatering, which is strange because all three plants got the same amount of water, pretty much. It could also be pests, or stress from surrounding weeds. I think Jason plans to uproot them and check out the roots to see if they look healthy, then maybe plant them somewhere else. In hindsight we should have planted more of them to get a reasonable yield.

The tomato plants are taking off.

As are the hydrangea.

And the lavender.

The shasta daisies are getting ready to bloom.

Jason got two more and planted them on either side of the deck stairs, as you suggested (no photo).

He planted eggplant in front of the chimney.

And I don't have a photo, but the black raspberries are appearing; still green, though. Jason thinks we will get a lot this year.