Honeysuckle

My honeysuckle has buds forming that should become flowers one of these days. 

The arrow points to a flower bud.

I bought a honeysuckle a couple years ago on the premise that it smells good and is reputed to attract hummingbirds. Two years ago, the plant suffered a dreadful aphid infestation which I tried to cure first with ladybugs and then with insecticidal soap. I ended up just cutting off all the infested branches, leaving basically the main stem.

Last summer, the plant regrew some branches but didn't bloom. I think it needed to recover from the severe pruning. Now there are these buds, but I was also concerned to see some leaves touched with brown:

The arrows point to brown ends of the leaves.

I examined the plant closely but didn't see any aphids, so I hope the brown edges are due to something like the soil in the pot getting a bit dry. Container plants need lots of watering because they dry out fast. I haven't been watering yet this spring because we've had lots of rain, but I hear it was sunny and warm while I was out of town a couple weeks ago.