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!
I love that sign! I want one.. Does your store ship?
Hey Lyndi! We are not shipping just yet but if you go to Feather and Birch’s etsy she ships!
Feathers and Birch have a “taking a break” notification on their etsy store. They are probably swamped with orders. I’ll try again in future.
Shops open now! Cute stuff
Isn’t she talented?!
Hi Abby, I want to sit and have coffee! Your porch is beautiful and decorated with all that I love and hunt for 🙂 now I want topiaries for my sap buckets…so cute!
I love it! Just my style!
Thank you so much!
The porch turned out great!! I think the other fern is called a Kim fern it’s woody in the stem more. You might come home someday and find me on your porch sipping some tea
The sign is beautiful! I agree with loving black. I’m always a fan of black and white.
Oh my gosh! Porch Heaven! So where in the world did u get your large hanging scale!? I need this terribly!!!! That’s a hidden gem!
I found it at a flea market for $10! Crazy thing about it? It was a used auto part flea!
Very fun and inviting! Is the gather sign made out of wood?
It is! My friend Heidi from Feather and Birch makes them!
Hi Abbey, I have a double laundry tub just like yours, and my hubby doesn’t think I should place it in our back yard. I wanted to plant some green beans. Kohlrabi, and beets and have squash vining around the legs. If I place it on the East side of our Lilian bushes, it should get lots of sun. Do you think it would look nice? We have 3 acres 2 acres are lawn, garages, house & pool? I want to do this next May??
I would give it a try! I haven’t had experience planting kohlrabi but anything planted in a pot is going to need tons of water. I love the idea of squash vines going up around it! just make sure the lilac bushes are not going to block out the sun!
Always wanted a porch like yours! You are so lucky!
we really do love it!
Love this porch!! Obsessed with the “gather” sign. I visited the Etsy site but was wondering the size of the one shown in the photo for reference.
Hey There!
I believe this one is 45 inches 🙂
I realize there is no spacing on etsy but cannot find FeathersandBirch..I wanted to order sign
Thanks!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Featherandbirch
Here you go!
I want this sign for my dinning room!!
Hello!
Can you tell me what you used to hang the gather sign to the house?
Thank you
Hey there!
I had a single nail in the middle of the sign holding it up. It seemed to balance perfectly!
Thanks for the share!