The plant in the bucket could use a transplant. I'm not sure how you will pull it off though. Wish I was there. I would happily jump on a shovel for her.

No catipillars is good. Over here we have a type of cat that burrows into the bud and eats the stem. A lot of them can make an all you can eat buffet of your girls in a week. So stay on top of 'em.

Hang in there and keep doing what you are doing. Everything looks great!