Bringing the Backyard to Life

One thing about living in Houston is that you better enjoy the nice weather while it's here. Early spring and late fall are usually very nice in this city, but the summertime sucks.

So on Sunday my fiance Bernard and I decided to take advantage of the cool, sunny weather to plant a new tree in our backyard, which is the size of a postage stamp but nonetheless needs some serious landscaping. After two years living this house, it's still an embarrassment how little we have done with the yard. Sunday was the first step.

We went to a local plant store called Buchanan's and after much perusing decided on an Oklahoma redbud. Ours is about 5 feet tall, with purple blossoms. It's got a lot of growing to do.

Amazingly, this tree in its 10-gallon pot, two other smaller plants, a 40-pound bag of mulch and a 30-pound bag of compost, along with me, Bernard and our dog Nema all fit into one four-door Volkswagen Jetta. The Buchanan's employee looked worried as he wheeled the tree up to our car, but we all squeezed in (although the 55-pound canine had to sit on my lap for the ride home).

When we got home, we pulled the crape myrtle out of the ground and planted the redbud in its spot. (The crape myrtle has barely grown in two years and has been plagued by mildew and lack of sufficient sunlight.) Then we stood back and admired our handiwork.

And don't worry about the fate of our unearthed crape myrtle. That afternoon, we took it to my parents' house, where we replanted it in a sunny spot by their front door.