Gee Neal, That seems like a lifetime ago that I asked the question. No, blooms any time of year would be good. The soil there is not overly dry, only when we are having a real draught, like last summer.
The lilac grew very well there. It just wouldn't flower because of the shade. It used to flower, but once my neighbor put up that privacy fence, I lost the morning sun. A lot of my lilies over there were affected too.
I have a whole new set of problems now
, but I may start another thread here for that.