I planted a tree today!

Let's see how it goes this time.

I am feeling fairly hopeful this time.  His name is Phillip.  I feel if I give him a name and a gender he will have  a greater will to live.

Phillip is a crape myrtle which are supposed to thrive in my harsh, Texas environment.  I think, when he blooms, that Phillip will have pale pink flowers.

Like so...

In fall of 2008, Husband and I planted another crape myrtle in the back yard.  We went to the garden center, found the biggest tree nerd in the state, studied his little to-do list, and followed every instruction to the letter.   Come winter, I was absolutely sure that it was dead.

I mourned.  This tree was a gift for our first anniversary and it was dead in the cold.  I had killed a symbol of my marriage in  a small, frosted corner of my back yard.

However, come spring, all hope was not lost!  There was tiny buds popping up along the lower sections of the trunks.    My marriage was not dead!  It was stubbornly clinging to life.  We even got a little bit of flowers in the spring from my poor, stubby, anniversary tree.

Then, winter passed  by again and the drama unfolded all over again.    It came back again, shorter than ever, but ALIVE!  I'm pretty sure that trees are supposed to get taller over time, but I'll settle for not dead yet.

So now Phillip joins our little back yard desert with hopes to make it into a charming, English-style garden.  Maybe then I'll get a gnome.

A hot one.

Maybe I need to use my name philosophy on stubby tree.  Maybe I need to give it a reason to live once more.

Maybe anniversary tree needs to be a Brian.