Last October we transformed our porch into a spooky display complete with pumpkins, spiders, and creepy branches (read about that here). Well, this summer we sorta achieved the same thing by accident. But more in an “is this house abandoned?” way. Here’s what I mean:
Our best excuse is that caring for a newborn resulted in us neglecting the porch plantings, meaning we got dead bush…
…after dead bush…
…after so-dead-that-the-squirrels-must’ve-taken-it-and-given-it-a-proper-burial bush.
It’s embarrassing, we know. So we bucked up and finally decided to rectify the situation. Not just for ourselves, but also to earn back some of our curb appeal for the whole Project Sell This House initiative. And all it really took was a quick trip to Home Depot to grab some colorful plants (two mums, a pansy, and a hosta to be exact):
The mums were for the two big square planters on either side. So the first step was to say good riddance to the old somehow-they-turned-orange boxwoods that used to live there. Sayonara suckers.
Now here’s where I normally would’ve dug in the new plant. However, we’ve realized that plants on this porch will inevitably have an expiration date. They don’t get much sunlight nor any water thanks to the roof above (although we do our best to water them ourselves), so we agreed it’d be silly to waste our time trying to establish a permanent bush again. Hence the reason we snagged this seasonal mum in a square container (see where I’m going with this?) so that we can just plop the thing right in over the leftover dirt, planter and all…
Voila. Instant update. And it can now easily be swapped out for other planter-ready pot when the seasons change (by us if we’re still here or by the new homeowner if we’ve already moved).
Plus because it’s still in the original container, we can easily take them out and place them on the lawn in the sun every once in a while to help keep them happy since the porch is such a shady place.
So anyway, with the mums just dropped in (which took about ten seconds), I did take the time to dig in the other plants since I wasn’t going to be able to pull off the same trick in those other containers. But they were small enough that it took almost no time. And I can also place them out in the sun a few times a week to keep them looking perky (and opposed to dead).
Then we gave the porch a good sweep to freshen it up a bit. Happily our painted stripes from last spring are still going strong and showing nearly no wear and tear, which is nice since we feared that the light colors might end up looking dingy. And after sweep-fest 2010, just like that we were back in business. No more unintentionally creepy porch.
It’s amazing how under $35 in plants (the mums were $12 each, the rest were $10-ish total) freed us from our previous porch shame.
We even proudly introduced ourselves to a neighbor the other day by saying “we’re the house with the yellow flowers on the porch.” Hey, it beats “we’re the house with the dead orange bushes.”
What’s the deal with your porch – or your front entryway in general? Anyone else with curb appeal shame going on? Or do you also have mums in action in an attempt to keep things looking good?
I am a plant murderer -inside in out. Its actually pretty depressing. I love plants I just can’t seem to get it right! Except for bamboo. bamboo and I are friends.
The new flowers look great! I am a total plant killer! I somehow managed to make our succulent (the one plant we have that isn’t a cactus) look very, very sad recently. Hopefully it’ll perk back up…
YHL,
What is your outside home maintenance? Do you pressure wash once a year? I thought for sure you would mention spider webs on the porch, which is what my house suffers from. Any tips other than grabbing a broom and “sweeping” the webs?
The broom technique is what we use, sometimes a regular hose with a spray nozzle if it’s set up. Sorry we’re not more high tech!
xo,
s
Mornin y’all. (Can you tell I’m from Texas?) The porch looks great. I know I have seen a list of where everything in your house came from, but I couldn’t find it today. Where did the white-used-to-be-brown-planters on the porch come from. Thanks.
Home Depot!
xo,
s
Beautiful! I love how bright and cheery the yellow is. I need to really do something about our front porch. It’s a mess!
I love how you spruced up that adorable porch of yours – plants and color make it feel so nice and cozy! An aside, I’m also a HUGE fan of how you did up your spooky porch last year for Halloween (and was inspired this weekend to do the same to mine!). I might go and pick up some mums to top it off – I heart those little flowers!
After having our first child, we became non-potted plant people (inside or out), for the same reasons you are experiencing now! We just enjoy the plants that are IN THE GROUND, AROUND the house, and let mother nature do the rest (we do trim them). You can still use pillows and other accents that don’t need maintenance, and you can freshen things up seasonally with pumpkins, wreaths, etc.
We’re REALLY bad about our porch… mostly because we always forget about it as we use the side door entrance to our home. We freshen it up every now and then but somedays we go out there and it’s scary just like your situation. Ha! One day I went out on the porch and my neighbor was like “hey you know that package has been there for three days!!” I suppose I should venture out there more often…
You guys could have really saved on Halloween candy if you kept with the “abandoned” look!
Curb appeal shame? ::raises hand::
With the ridiculously hot summer we had, my zinnias shriveled up and died… except for a few adorable buds. Since they still had a lil life in them, I didn’t have the heart to pull them up. But as of this week, they are officially dead and need to go. Buut, I did buy some new planters and doormat this weekend so there is hope!
Wow! I can’t believe what a difference those plants made. It looks great! Now I’m inspired to do the same. My porch is an embarrassment.
It is amazing what fresh flowers/plants can do. Love the yellow! Take heart. The house 2 doors from us sold the day before the open house.
We just did almost the exact same thing on our porch! http://trianglehoneymoon.com/2010/09/11/three-trips-to-the-store-but-one-happy-lawn/
We carved pumpkins this weekend which gave our ugly porch some nice bright orange. I would love to geta yellow and Red mum to put by them!
your porch looks beautiful!
Here’s reason #586 I hate living in an apartment… I have a porch, but it’s not the HEY WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE porch. I bought my 6 month old his first pumpkin and put it on my mom’s porch…
We’ve recently added some mums for a splash of fall color. Our porch/walkway is covered, too so plants don’t last long, but we’re trying.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/the-grand-tour/
Love the porch…and even more, LOVE the more spontaneous posts. Thanks for being a part of my morning!
We don’t have any kind of porch right now, and I wish we did. I love them so!
I love the yellow for fall! It looks great against your red door. I have let my plants go too…you have inspired me to take a little jaunt to Home Depot to fix my front porch situation!
abodelove.blogspot.com
Hi,
looks refreshed indeed ! this brings me to the question I’ve been wanting to ask the entire weekend, but monday here it comes ! regd Storm door color choice
We have a wine-red(cranberry/burgundy) front door with white trim all around it, windows on the front side of the house have white trim also. the siding on the porch side of house is lighter shade of butter yellow.
Should I pick a white storm door or a cranberry color one ??(seamless as the middle bar fades in the door) , link below of how it looks like. sorry they dont have the ‘wineberry’ color picture online. Thank you for your time.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xit/R-100608567/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
Hey Anu,
Either could probably work but we like the idea of a cranberry one to look more seamless. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love the yellow mums, it looks so cheerful and inviting. The hosta should do well on your porch, they are shade-loving plants.
We don’t have a porch, but I have been very neglectful of the plants and herbs that I grow on our back deck. My herbs were mostly burned to a crisp and I was growing more weeds than flowers this year.
We just cleaned our front porch this weekend since we’d ignored it during the summer monsoon season. And it turns out in the process we angered lots of scorpions and they have been out in protest. Ahh, the joys of desert living.
Same thing happened to us this year with our first summer at this house. Southwest Ohio had a super hot and dry summer so unless you watered things twice a day, it all got fried. My mother-in-law replanted my front pots (love her!) and I’ve been trying like mad to keep them happy in the 90 degree heat this weekend/week. (What the heck?! Its OCTOBER!!!!) Your porch looks so much better!
What’s the lovely leafy plant to the left of the bench?
Hey Ann-Marie,
It’s a hosta. Love them.
xo,
s
I got a jump start on fall decorating this year, so we’ve had some pretty yellow mums by our front door for a few weeks now. Like you, our porch had been neglected and had dead flowers from late spring/early summer. It’s amazing how new flowers can transform a space. We also went pumpkin picking last weekend, so now we have our orange pumpkins with our mums. It certainly feels like fall!
This is so great! I’ve been thinking of what to do on our porch. It is too shallow to put sitting arrangements but definitely needs some color and focus/purpose. With all the porch cons that you mentioned (limited light and water) I’ve stayed away from plants but think hearty mums and maybe working them down the stairs might do the trick. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Curb appeal is something our house severally lacks. The people who owned it before us planted a lot of green shrubs and holly that has taken over. No matter how much we trim, it still looks blah. We know a total overhaul is needed but it costs a lot and takes a lot of time. Maybe in the spring after baby is born! Oh and we do have mums on the front porch.
My porch is currently hosting some dead geraniums and the like. I’m also blaming it on the baby… I plan to get some mums in the next couple of days. I think those take longer to look dead :o).
Our shame was a whole front yard of scraggly ugly ivy. We worked on that this weekend and hopefully will sod it next weekend!
http://www.kellyandellen.org/house/2010/10/front-yard-makeover-part-1/
(Oh, and yes, we’ve got about 5-6 pots of previously alive plants sitting on our porch right now… but one thing at a time…)
I have a green thumb for veggies but when it comes to flowers… bad news bears! I don’t know why I am SO good at murdering flowers but at least the veggies survive my abuse! I currently have a very green very pretty jalapeño plant sitting on my front porch. (right next to some deceased flowers. oops!)
LOVE the stripes on your porch btw! I would have never imagined that working against the brick but oh boy does it work! =)
It’s amazing how a tiny bit of time and $35 can really make the porch feel fresh. As a Home Stager I’m always making this recommendation. It’s the first thing people see when they drive past or pull up to your home. Your porch looks sale-ready now! :)
As for my porch, since I’m in FL, even if I don’t water regularly, the humidity keeps most of my plants perky. I have some impatients in a pot in a shady spot on the porch and two big urns on either side of the front door which are currently filled with trailing ivy and some currently expiring petunias which will be replaced by purple or burnt orange-reddish mums (our house is buttercream color so the contrast is pretty). I’m going to give it a couple more weeks before I put our big and beautiful fall wreath up since temps are still hitting the high 80’s here.
I can’t even begin to express our curb-appeal shame, but we’re working on it! We just bought a house with an acre of somewhat-neglected gardens and woods. They were once beautiful but the previous owners were getting on in years and tired of caring for it.
We’re taking it back, but we have our work cut out for us. While we aren’t much on the D-I-Y stuff when it comes to the inside, I’m all about doing the work on the outside.
What a great quick fix! My porch is in need of some major cleaning and sprucing up too. However, my idea of sprucing is not the same as my 2 lil’ boys’ who envision pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons galore. We’ll see what happens. You porch looks perky and welcoming once again!
I think leaving the plants in their containers would be brilliant for us! We live in a half-underground condo with a sunken porch. Our brick ledge gives us plenty of room for plants and decoration, but there is no sun and we tend to kill everything! Thanks for the beautiful post (as usual)!
I just picked up some bright yellow mums to flank our front door–also the same shade of red as yours! It’s amazing what $8 bucks in colorful fall mums can do for boosting curb appeal. I also found a red, yellow and orange fall berry wreath at home goods this weekend for $10. Love my fall decor on our front porch!! Yours looks beautiful!!
What a difference flowers make, huh? I am so in love with you guys, it’s almost criminal. I’m a follower, so keep up the wonderful work!!
http://www.missionfashionable.com
We had a major creepy porch problem as well…..complete with dead plants and to one up you guys….cob webs. All fixed this past weekend with a thorough sweep and a gorgoeus yellow mum also. The yellow just brings so much life!!!!
Aww, don’t be so hard on yourselves guys ;) The porch looks exceptional, love the plants you got, well done!
Looks great! Just a heads up, that pansy will keep on blooming indefinitely if you make sure to dead-head it every week or two. Just pinch off the spent blooms and the plant will send energy to create new ones. Good luck!
i have a black thumb, completely. i’ve tried to keep house plants in my last few apartments, but just ended up with skeletons and bugs. not good! thankfully, my boyfriend is an excellent gardener, and we’ve been using giant plants to cover up the ugly exterior paint of our rental!
we don’t have a porch but we have an entry way with two large pillars. we went mum shopping yesterday and I had intended to get yellow ones for the pop of color but i just fell in love with this beautiful light purple one with yellow in the middle of the flowers…not as much of a pop as yours gives but it is soo pretty. we also have some pumpkins outside and we put some corn stalks up on the pillars.
Lovely!
Have I just not been paying attention or is the “you may also like these posts” function a new addition?
We added that about four days ago. Hope you guys like it!
xo,
s
I have a similar situation with my house on the market, too. All my early summer plantings are dead and hidden, but I need to refresh the curb appeal. What do you think about those 1-year guarantees on plants that all the big stores put out? Have you ever returned a dead plant? Do you have to show up to the store with the decomposing plant in hand (kind of grotesque) as a testament to your black thumb? Is returning $25 in plants frugal or just cheap-o?
Hey Jenn,
We totally appreciate those guarantees from Home Depot and Lowe’s and have actually brought back a big tree that we purchased years back because it died right away and we were sad that it never did its thing! We’re cheap-os at heart, so to us guarantees like that are meant to be used- assuming you watered the plants and gave them a fighting chance as opposed to straight up murdering them with lack of effort.
xo,
s
The pots on our front porch got a little overgrown this summer. But there was no death and destruction like your front porch. I rectified the situation a couple of weeks ago with What do you know – yellow mums and purple petunias.
Now if you want to talk death and destruction, you should have seen the back porch this spring. It was very bad. :)
http://40daysof.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/the-back-porch-back-from-the-dead/
It looks great! It’s amazing what pretty plants and flowers can do to an entry! We are on a hunt for some to replace the dead ones we have! :D
What a great idea. Your porch looks great! i just added mums to my porch as well, they are so beautiful!
http://recycledinteriors.blogspot.com/2010/10/mums-word.html
So cute and easy! I just posted about updating my outdoor space with new plants, because mine died as well: http://justabouthome.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/new-succulent-and-native-garden/
I love mums… mine seem to live on and thrive well past the expiration date on other plants.
I wish our front yard fix was that easy! We spent about 12 hours raking and mostly weeding our front lawn to try and get some resemblence of grass before winter. Some of those colorful mums are just what we need to draw attention from the awful non-existent grass!
I love it! Hey, don’t feel bad about the dead plants. When our baby was born last winter all of my spring planting and summer watering went out the window and our flower beds just wilted and died. All you can do is try to do better with this next batch of plants. I think taking care of a human baby is way more important than plants anyway. Keep up the good work with Clara!