“Staying Home” on Our Front Porch

In the almost three years we have lived in our home, I don’t think our front porch has ever gotten so much use. Don’t get me wrong, our front porch has always been a bit of a landing spot for my family during our normal routine. However, with us “staying home” but wanting to feel more connected to the community, I find myself gravitating to this space- and the amazing weather we have been having here makes it even more inviting! I love being able to wave to neighbors as they walk by and shout hello – and our sidewalks have never been so active! 

So when this spot became our official “Quarantine Headquarters”- I figured it would be a great time to give it a few new tweaks to make it work even better for us. You know me, I just can’t help myself… 🙂 And I figured I would share my updates in case you are in the same boat! So here are four ways I added some extra comfort and new life to our front porch without spending much! 

1. FREE FRESH GREENERY & A “GARDEN”

This time of year, I am usually popping over to Home Depot several times a week to grab plants and odds and ends to spruce up the yard and house after the winter months. It’s always so fun to add fresh plants and flowers around the porch. But since I haven’t made a trip to Home Depot since the lock-down orders, I came up with a few ideas to have some greenery on the porch using free things from around the yard.

• BOXWOOD CLIPPINGS IN A VASE- Here you can see how I clipped a bunch of boxwood and put them in a large vase. Our boxwood are growing like crazy right now so I just grabbed some new long ones that needed trimming to enjoy in a vase. I read that these will last 4-6 weeks in water. 
• ROSEMARY CLIPPINGS – I also grabbed my copper planter and made three different “pots”… OK- so maybe one is a spaghetti jar and one is half of a milk carton, but you gotta use what you have!  In the glass jar, I’ve got rosemary clippings in water that I am hoping will propagate and create roots so I can plant them in my garden or a pot. 
• LAVENDER CLIPPINGS- In the milk carton pot I clipped some lavender from my backyard and am also hoping this will propagate. From what I have read, lavender doesn’t root as well as Rosemary, but I figured it was worth a shot. 
• BOXWOOD TO PROPAGATE– In the third pot I put some boxwood clippings in soil that I am trying to propagate using root hormone. This was a really helpful post that includes a video for how to create tiny boxwood plants. We shall see if it works!
• LEMON BALM – I also “shopped” my moms potting shed and grabbed a few new-to-me terracotta pots as well as a few herb clippings from her garden. The terracotta pot has these clippings that I am also hoping to propagate here. 

I don’t have the greenest of thumbs, and tend to forget about plants and simple things like watering. But the beauty of having this little “garden” right here is that since I have been sitting out here so much- it is nearly impossible to forget to tend to them!

And really what do I have to lose? It was all free and still provides something fresh and green on the porch.  And creating this little “garden” really gave me life as I was doing it! And I will call that a quarantine win in my book. 

2. COFFEE TABLE/OTTOMAN

I have never added a coffee table or ottoman to the porch before because it really isn’t a huge space. But since we have been out here so much, I snagged these two resin wicker tables from our side yard that we have had since we got married 15 years ago. I added them here and they are perfect for holding snacks, drinks, snacks, books… and snacks… (seriously, we never stop eating these days)

3. FERNS FERNS AND MORE FERNS

I was fortunate to have grabbed two ferns from Home Depot right before we went into lock-down for the planters near our front door. I love using ferns here because they are so easy and will get me right into fall. Don’t they just scream summer to you? I just don’t think my porch would be complete without them! 

But do you see this fun bright green fern right there? That is a maidenhair fern.

It is actually a plant from last summer that I stacked up on the side of house once it started to look scraggly in the late fall with my unused pots. It was outside unattended all winter. I figured it was a goner,  but then I saw it coming back to life this spring and have been babying it ever since! YAY!!!! It used to be in a clunky black plastic pot and I snagged this fun round shallow terracotta pot from my parent’s potting shed. (thanks Mom) I cannot believe how much of a difference just changing the pot has made in adding warmth to the space.  I just love it’s bright green splash of color on this table.

It’s ok baby fern, I won’t desert you again…

4. NEW OUTDOOR RUG

Another purchase I made right before I knew we would be staying home for the foreseeable future was this new rug. The one that was out here had seen better days and when I saw this blue striped one it was love at first sight! (oh it’s 20% off right now- YAY!) The rug really does pull the whole space together and makes it feel so cozy and inviting. 

FRONT PORCH QUARANTINE HQ

Well I hope this helps inspire you to make your front porch more welcoming as we all stay home! Just shop your house (or your mom’s potting shed, LOL) and maybe a new splurge or two will help. I am just so thankful for this spot to read, take a quick phone call, hang with the boys, or just watch the world go by… I’ve included all the sources below but let me know if I missed anything. 

For lot’s more porch inspiration, be sure to check out my PORCH LIFE category with lots of past porch posts inspiration.

PORCH REFRESH

SHOP THE PORCH SOURCES:

xoxo-

Heather

Related posts:

Ferns & Flags- A Southern Summer Front Porch (There’s No Place Like) Home For The Holidays || Christmas Front Porch October Front Porch September Front Porch