spring porch decor

after weeks of waiting for the weather to clear and warm up in early may i could finally safely start putting plants out on the front porch. usually i would have my porch decorated by the first weekend in may but those few last surprise snowfalls and random 20 degree weather kind of put a damper on things. a field trip to a wholesale greenhouse, farmers markets and random roadside greenhouses and my spring/summer porch decor is almost ready.

first though lets talk about the amazing gather sign my friend heidi made for me. she sells them at our store the found cottage but i really wanted something black to pop against the white brick. that girl can make anything i swear i gave her dimensions and a color and she cranked this out for me. i love the word gather. it has two meanings to me. gather together with friends and family and i think that is what porches are for arn’t they? gather with others and then gather up goods. i love nothing more in the summer than to walk out to my garden and gather up all the fresh produce. so for the porch it just seemed the right fit. these signs range in price depending on size. smaller ones start at $25 and they go all the way up to $100 for the jumbo sizes. one of my other favorites is the big mustard color “hello” sign. it’s adorable. in the end though, gather won.

next on the agenda is a new porch light. randomly one night the shade on this porch light just burst open and shattered all over the porch. now we just have one older one and one with a bulb. boo. i’m thinking about getting some of those outdoor barn lights maybe in black? someone seriously needs to take the highgloss black paint out of my hands right now. i’m on this black color kick on everything. i think it’s because i love the way it makes everything just pop!
the ferns i picked up at the holland farmers market from J.W. Greenhouse. the two in the old wash tubs are regular boston ferns (my friend tates family greenhouse) the macho ferns are the ones in the hanging natural baskets. they get so big throughout the summer! the leaves are a little glossier than a typical boston and they have a deeper green color. i bought them last year and almost lost my mind when the greenhouse lady didn’t know what i was talking about at first. luckily they had a huge supply and the day was saved!

last but not least i’ve officially kept my topiaries alive for three weeks. three weeks of very diligent watering. i give them a big drink before work and after work and that seems to be doing the trick. they are also sitting in part shade on my porch which i think helps keep them from drying out.

what do you think? i’m almost finished. a few more finishing plant touches and we’ll be able to sit and enjoy it all summer long. and trust me, this summer i am determined to sit and enjoy it!

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