A Pretty Porch Every Season

Hi! How's everyone doing this week? We are enjoying having a little less going on, and trying to soak up fall before it feels more like winter. For the first time this week I feel like I can do some of the things I enjoy so much in the fall (like curling up with a good book* more on this later).  

Anyway, since we are thinking about the quickly changing seasons, I thought I'd just share how I use a couple of planters on our front porch, through all the seasons by just making a few changes. I took a class once where we had to practice putting together vignettes (or shop/window displays). I got to learn about what most people find visually pleasing and what makes things feel complete, or balanced. Interesting stuff. Just when you think you'll never use what you learn in school...

Summer

Here's our porch with summer flowers, and fourth of July flags. This one is kind of a no brainer, I know. Plants in pots, genius! But planting the taller delphinium in the large pot really expanded the impact of these two fairly small pots. 

Fall

Once we get a frost or the plants are getting tired from a long hot summer, I cut or pull them out and use the pots to set up a little pumpkin patch. Having the varied heights provides more visual interest than just piling pumpkins up on the porch, and the red and grey pots add some color too. 

Winter
For winter this last year I saved the lower branches we trimmed off our Christmas tree and arranged them into a large and small bunch for each of the pots. I stuck the bunch right into the dirt. I surrounded the base with pinecones and added some beneath the pots to anchor them visually. Then I used a pack of small silver Christmas bulbs that have wire attached to them, and twisted the wire around the branches in several places. You can usually find these bulbs near the silk flowers at Hobby Lobby, or in one of their many Christmas aisles. By doing neutral colors I think this says more "winter" than "Christmas," so I left it up 'til March, when I was ready for some spring color.

Spring
I didn't take a picture of this one (sorry), but in the spring I dump out the dirt to replace it later with fresh potting soil. While the pot is empty I drop in a new, large potted annual that I plan to transplant into the garden once the weather warms up. A lot of times it seems like garden centers get in some beautiful plants well before it's appropriate to plant them out side (in our region anyway). This way I get to have color on the porch, but I can bring it in if it's going to be a cold night, then when it warms up for good I can transplant the annual to the garden and fill my porch pots with a mixture of smaller plants and colors.

I hope you are enjoying Fall this week. I am reading a great (brand new!) book that I can't wait to tell you about, hopefully at the end of the week. See you then!

-Haley