>> I like the serene sculptural elegance of the striped Purissima tulip against the angled stack of cinder blocks. <<

:D It's a favorite tulip. The blocks raise the barrel to a convenient height.

>> The barrel garden, with its jaunty skewed angles and ring of spring flowers, has the air of a children’s picture book cover. (I suspect you’d maintain a Lost And Found for any stray rabbit-sized blue jackets with brass buttons.) <<

:D I totally would.

>> The violets are pervasive and awaiting their turn to bloom.<<

More of them have bloomed over the past few days, but the leaves are still small and low.