Porch sittin'

Working on the back porch at Ed's house, looking forward to getting it to the point where it's a pleasant place to be in the warmer months. We're thinking with family over, cookouts, and just good old fashioned porch sitting'

It started out a real mess....I wish I'd taken "before" pictures.....essentially just more storage so there was everything piled out there, from old newspapers to a broken down bike, ragged, cobweb strewn boxes of sports equipment to unused roof tiles....I mean we're talking a real mishmash of junk and stuff that just needed to be out of sight in the garage.

The photos don't look like much.....yet That's an old rusty glider that I threw a well used and slightly stained matelasse cover over because the glider cushions are ancient and ratty and a weird size, so we haven't been able to find cushions to replace the old ones. Scrubbed that white table which started out gray and so stained I wasn't sure it would ever come clean, swept up gallons of leaves, knocked all the cobwebs into oblivion, threw a couple colorful throws around and added a couple plants.

There's so much I want to do out there, everything from an indoor/outdoor rug under the table to a whole bunch of hanging and other plants, cushions on the glider, adorn the wall behind the glider with art....generally just more lushness and color





What do you think? I need ideas, folks.

It's roofed over so I don't know what I can put out there that doesn't need sun. I want color, flowering plants, but can I even do that if there's no sun there?

What would you suggest? Help!!!

 

Hiya Ronni--Boy, you have taken on a real project by the sounds of it. I have to say though, that it is looking good now.

As for plants, my very first thought was a hanger with a big, bushy fern--like a Boston fern or something. I reckon that a Wandering Jew would also do well there.
Perhaps you could find a mock-pillar to place something like a Spider plant on.
There are other various seasonal plants that come along during the course of the summer.

Ronni, I once had an aunt that had a wren build a nest in her fern and another year-- a dove. I found that remarkable.

You know, the very first thing that caught my eye on your picture was that "Bumble Bee" fish. What a cute addition.

 

I need to take more pictures. There are ornamental chains that hang from the roof between the iron uprights of the porch, perfect for hanging ferns and/or wandering jew! I had actually thought about that...maybe alternating with pots of colored flowers I've seen being sold at my local nursery and hardware places.

I actually have the exact thing to put that spider plant on! I hadn't even thought of that kind of plant...will it do well in the shade?

Sjoerd, I found that thing in my local thrift store for 99c! I wandered in to the place looking for pots...they always have good deals, and there are so many things you can use as planters that aren't actually planters but that are fun. Found some of those too, but I think my favorite find of the day was that little fishy!

 

Hey there, The Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum) I had when I lived in Granada, Spain and it only received indirect light and did just fine.

Another plant that I had there was the (Plectranthus verticillatus), also with indirect light.

A potted plant that you, may like is the (Physalis alkekengi). Not only is it a strong plant bit the flower and fruit at the end of the summer is quite attractive with its bright orange petals.

***A word of caution here---do not, under ANY circumstances let this plant get into the soil on your property, for it will run amok in no time at all and getting it out will he a Devils' chore!
So then---keep it, nurture it but then only safely in a pot on your porch.

It sounds like you already have some good ideas for that porch though

Good luck, meid.

 

Ronni it does sound like you have a good idea of what you want to add to that nice sitting area. If you want to add some more color you would spray paint some clay pots fun colors and put real or silk flowers in them. Looking forward to some more pics.

 

So I found the cutest little watering can container at my local grocery store...a perfect addition to the porch. Ed had a really old, kinda beat up tray that used to be his Mom's so, I put that in the middle of the porch coffee table, and added the watering can with a begonia? in it, that cute little thrift store fish and a tiny bird house, and I made what I think is a sunny, happy little centerpiece for the porch coffee table. What do you think?

 

That is such a happy still-life. I could imagine an oil painting of it.
That porch is coming along really nicely. What does your BF think of it all?

 

Thanks y'all. I appreciate the feedback. I'm having lots of fun with it.

Thanks for asking Sjoerd. Ed is genuinely grateful, and really blown away...he had no idea a porch could look so inviting! And that's really funny, because I feel like I've barely begun He said it looks way better now even that before it got junked up, when it was actually being used as an outside area for hanging out, cookouts etc. His ex-wife wasn't much for decorating, and he wasn't very into it himself, so things were just basically functional around the house, without much flair. He says he really likes my flair.

His son was home from college for Spring break. Really nice kid, and even he noticed the various things I'd done around the house and how much less cluttered it was, and said it was so nice to come home to. That made me feel good too. Samuel, the son, actually spent a lot of time out on the porch, playing his guitar, listening to music, on his laptop...like that. It made Ed feel really good that Samuel was enjoying being home even more than usual because of how nice things were in the house.

That made me feel good too.

But back to the porch.........we were going to go out this weekend and buy ferns and colorful hanging plants, and a variety of other things I need for the outside garden work. But you know how it is...life got in the way so that will get deferred to next weekend now. Meanwhile I'm continuing to drop in to my local thrift store looking for other porch things. Right now I'm concentrating on things I can put on the wall......you can see the area I'm talking about in one of the pics, above the glider. It's just bare. Further to the right is the kitchen window, so I have just that bit of space to figure out what to do with. I want fun things there...things maybe not commonly on a wall, but would still look good. I found an old, fairly rusted, cast iron thing...I don't know what to call it....looks like a mould of some kind, like half ears of corn. I think it was for corn cakes or the like. Anyway that's the kind of thing I'm thinking about.

Any ideas for that...y'all are so good at your garden junque collecting

 

I think your coffee table center piece is marvelous..

 

That iron thing sounds like a cornbread form to me. You know, for cooking cornbread in the oven.

I think that your bf's son's reaction to the way things look really is a nice thing....nice for him, nice for your bf and VERY nice for you--as it was your conception and work. Chapeau.

 

Your flair for decorating is amazing! Just a few thrift store finds, a cover for the glider, a lot of hard work and a comfortable and welcoming outdoor space appears!

 

"Glider"....yeah, I had to look that one up...I forgot to mention that. Ha,ha,ha...boy, I was way off base with what I thought that was the first time I read your posting. I couldn't see any air-plane parts on your pics, you see.

 

Wow, the eccentricities of the english language!

I found a happy-looking outdoor cushion at Walmart for $5..splashy colorful flowers on it, which I think will look good on the glider . (Sjoerd, imagine that cushion flying through the air at around 5,000 feet ) I'll take a pic tomorrow when I'm over there for dinner...Ed is an amazing cook and loves to do it so I get treated to all manner of yummy fare when I'm over!

The one thing we don't see completely eye to eye on for the porch is color. I want lots of it... happy, bright colors. He's more conservative with color than I am, so has been a bit startled by some of the hues I've introduced out there (the teal watering can holder, the bright red and flowery throw you can see in the background behind it..things like that) but has had the grace to get past his own bias and admit that what I've done out there does look nice. He's willing to embrace color more, and I'll tone it down some, so I think we've hit a good compromise, at least in theory.

 

good to hear that you guys are getting along so well with the colour schemes for the porch. The flowery throw looks pretty tame to me.
BTW--I quite like that Begonia.
....a cushion at 5000 feet. Hmmmmm, yeah, that's a heck of an image.