Patriotic Front Porch in the RWB

I started thinking about decorating the front porch for the July 4th holiday back in late May when I joined in on a roundup for patriotic ideas and inspiration. This house has a nice sized front porch where I have an old train depot bench so there's plenty of room for some fun seasonal and holiday decor. I really prefer using a basket on the door for faux florals with coordinating color and decorative ribbon, but since I have a problem with birds making nests in the basket from late March to June I usually just do a wreath in early spring to summer. I took a chance that by late June the birdie problem would be over. I think I'm safe...

Vintage Cottage Weekend: Seasons on the Potting Bench

I shared the Potting Bench on the back porch a few days ago, so I thought I'd have a look back at a few other seasonal potting bench posts. I love having this outside spot to keep my gardening tools and necessities corralled. It's an anchor piece for one of the seating areas, where we enjoy a break during the day and evening. 

If you missed my last post you can find it HERE

Late Summer Seasonal Flowers: Home and Garden

Hello Everyone, welcome to the 

Flower Power Late Summer Mini Blog Hop 

hosted by our sweet friend, 

Cecilia from My Thrift Store Addiction!

Summer Containers on the Porch and in the Garden

Hi Friends, I thought I'd share a quick post with some pics of my containers out back and on the front porch. These were taken a couple of weeks ago, so they are just barely blooming, not really filled out at all. This is my first time posting since I had the back surgery a week ago today. I had to have my husband help with all the "heavy lifting" to get these containers put together. He's not a gardening fan; I can barely wring enough sympathy out of him to water them while I've been "indisposed". He enjoys seeing how much color they add to the porch and the pretty blooms, he's just been trapped in an office for years, so his mind doesn't gravitate to extra stuff outdoors that might be considered work.

Mid-Summer Front Door Basket

In late June I "summerfied" the old bucket on the farmtable in the Garden Room with a wild "just picked" humongous bouquet. In mid-summer I like to have a crazy mix of sunflowers, hydrangeas, and geraniums that look like they just came in from the backyard. I shared the "Summer" ice cream bucket last week, so this week I gathered up some of the same faux flower mix and filled a gray wash wicker basket for the front door.

Potting Bench, the Back Porch and New Landscape

I got a late start on the back porch and container planters this year. My cervical spine surgery really put the kibosh on my fun this Spring. We had a cold and rainy May this year which didn't help getting things put together on top of everything else. My husband and I finally got around to doing some outside clean up and then for Mother's Day he helped me pot some sun-loving plants to get the back yard up to speed.

(cast iron rabbit on the back porch retaining wall)

Front Porch and Landscaping Update

I've been trying to get this post out for awhile, waiting on warmer weather to get some flowers and a fern for the front porch. We had a lot of rain and chilly weather with freezing temps even at the beginning of May. My Cervical Spine problems and surgery have kept me from being able to get plants and flowers potted, so I had to wait for last weekend to persuade my husband to take me out to find some. We tried 3 different places and since I'm about 4 weeks behind on this project all the plants were picked over and way overpriced. I had to make choices in a hurry because the nurseries were crowded and 3/4 of the customers weren't bothering to wear masks. I ended up with a bit of a hodge podge, but at least I have a few colorful blooms.

Porch Decor while in Transition

Hi Friends and welcome to the Spring Into Summer Porch and Outdoor Spaces Hop 

hosted by my talented, good friend Amber of  Follow the Yellow Brick Home. 

Are you needing some ideas to help spiff up your outdoor spaces? Put together something different? I know I am! We are in the middle of a facelift for our front porch and landscaping and sometimes it seems easier to just opt out of decorating an incomplete project. But I'm here to give it a try so I don't feel like it's a lost cause living with an outdated front porch.

If you're coming from Marty's at A Stroll Thru Life, I'm so glad you're here! I know the title to this post might seem a little strange, but it's an honest look at sharing the ups and downs during house renovations. 

Painting a French Metal Basket with Chalk Paint

Today, I wanted to share a little project of mine "in process";

transitioning from Summer into Fall.

And since this is a French-y iron basket I will say, "En cours".

See, you get your French "phrase" for the day, 

and a little view of what I'm up to.

Container Planting and Painting Styofoam Pots

Like most of you, I've been excited to finally get some outside work accomplished. Earlier this Spring we had our deck rebuilt. It was torn down to the studs and given a complete overhaul. This is the point that I can get really negative on the previous owners for neglecting an amazing 10 year old deck and landscape, but I won't do that. So instead I'll tell you how nice it is to have it mostly finished except for some painting we need to do under the floorboards, and how it's quickly becoming a comfortable place to relax and enjoy our beautiful back yard.

Container Planter Inspiration

I was starting from scratch this year when it came to getting containers planted. Up until last year, I had Geraniums that were 5 and 6 years old, as I would winter them in our basement. So last week I went looking for some container pot inspiration. I was mostly interested in plant varieties that would work for full sun. I do have some shady spaces that I will get to later, but my first round has been for the deck, lower patio, and a large concrete container for the front courtyard.

Fall Front Porch at the New House

The landscaping is in (except for the new maple we're waiting for) and I had time to run by the pumpkin market for a few mums and pumpkins. It's not a huge display, but just enough to make it feel like "home". It's pretty sparse compared to year's past, but all my concrete urns are still hiding out in storage. I also still have to figure out what will fit on the small front porch. I will probably just paint one of my wooden benches the charcoal gray like the door and new shutters. I need some little something out here, but I don't want to clutter up the small space. We still have to repaint the outside lanterns, they have a pretty tired finish that needs spiffing up.

If you missed the before shots of the sad shutters and front door, you can see how the new Benjamin Moore paint, Iron Mountain, really enhances the brick and railing, and pulls it all together.

before

As our contractor so aptly put it. 

"The shutters and door are beyond "distressed, this is "neglect". 

New paint and newly built shutters...so much better.

I had a few Fallish silk florals that I stashed in my basket, then grabbed some wide bright orange ribbon. It helps dress up the porch a little, give some Fall color, and it also keeps someone from being able to see inside, when you're standing at the door. Sorry, I don't like people peeking inside....eck. (I just used one of the large "Command" hooks for this basket)

Hubbs carted over my concrete bench for the rocked area... What do you call this space between the walkway and the garage? This is a popular landscape feature around here. Anyway, I'm hoping to plant some lillies and a few perennials out there when I get time. The boxwood shrubs are baby size, but will grow fast. Now you can see the rock accent areas under the windows, instead of ugly dead shrubbery. yay!

Just imagine that there are lanterns, my concrete squirrels, and a few watering cans... but since we haven't moved in yet, I didn't want to have too much out here.

I found this big concrete container at Lowe's, I hope to use it for seasonal flowers, maybe adding some perennial ivy, next Spring. I'd like to add more to the porch and stairs, but probably will have to wait for Christmas. 

We're just so happy to have all this cleaned up and replanted.

 It was such a mess with dead plants and shrubs. 

OK, that's the extent of my Outdoor Fall Decor, 

not much, but better than nothing...

joining in on these parties:

Treasure Hunt at From My Front Porch to Yours
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Feathered Nest at French Country Cottage
The Scoop at Confessions of a Plate Addict
Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

xoxo,

Salesman Sample Bag for Fall

I've had this big brown leather bag for I don't know how long. It's always sat at the bottom of the stairway, and often it's just been something to trip over. It's pretty worn in some places, so it's been better at gathering dust and being in the way than being a focal piece.

But I  was determined to do something different downstairs for the coffee table in my little sitting area, so I decided I would try to make this work. These are often confused with doctor's bags, but these salesmen's sample bags are bigger. Doctor's bags are most always black, and have a lower profile even though they are similar.

I wedged an old book between the metal frame of the hinges and stashed in some Faux Fall flowers and bushes. That's one thing I love about Fall, you can take bits and pieces of Fall leftovers and group them together, those wonderful colors and textures are so forgiving!

That's my ceramic pumpkin from the early 80's. 

It's seen better days, but I drag it out each Fall to enjoy one more season.

My red floral sofa is now sans slipcover,

as I was tired of it looking messy. 

Better red than sloppy.

Hope you're off to a great weekend,

rainy and cool today,

The Holiday Cupboard tomorrow!

xoxo,

Today's Sponsor

French Bleu Vintage