Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Porch Prettiness

Every summer, I find joy in creating a little sanctuary on our front porch with odds and ends from around the house, and lots of containers of flowers and greenery. This is the view from the street:




Here is dear old St. Francis, who has suffered much in our garden; he has been beheaded and mended with Gorilla Glue, and now I notice that the poor little bird he holds has also lost its head. But they're nice little greeters at the foot of our stairs.


This is the view as you ascend the stairs. Container gardens seem to be my thing; no weeds, a bit of water each night, and we're good to go! Our in-ground gardens, on the other hand, are a mess!




A close-up of the box you pass on the way to the door, which I showed you before in this post:


If you turn left at the top of the steps, you see our make-do seating area, which leaves something to be desired in the decor department, but is fabulously functional. We just need to find a suitable little table or an ottoman, as we tend to want to put our feet up when we're sitting here. Prince Caspian, whom you also met in the post I linked to above, claims the purple chair as his throne while he and I water the plants in the evening, but he will also force his large limbs to fit into the smaller tub chair if the other is claimed:


And here we have our little herb garden. We have yet to make good use of the herbs, though I did use several sprigs of mint to decorate dessert tonight :)

So there you see a little bit of loveliness that delights me morning and evening -- and many an afternoon, too!

Do you have a favourite little sanctuary that you've created in or around your home? What have you done, or what COULD you do to create a tranquil spot for you and your family to enjoy a few quiet moments? I'm always interested in hearing new ideas, so please do share in the comments below, and link to any pictures you might have posted :)

Before I go, DD8 wanted me to take a picture of her pretty toes that we painted together last night. She was standing on the porch, so they fit with the title of this post ;)



And I just thought I'd share with you the little bouquet of wild flowers DD8 and DS3 collected for me while we were on our "Morning Glories Walk" yesterday:



Such variety of colour and texture! Even weeds were created to delight us! ;)

I linked this post to Funky Junk Interiors blog party.

12 comments:

  1. Paula, I think you've done an outstanding job with your porch and yard! It is so welcoming to your visitors as well as yourselves - I just love it. There is an area in my back yard that I'd like to "transform"; I've been giving it alot of thought, since I can't spend any money to perform this minor miracle - lol. My backyard abuts a cemetery, which I find very tranquil, though I know some would not agree! It's a very shady spot with patchy grass. So far I have a wind chime and a birdbath out there. I'd love to see it full of color and a seating area. You've given me some inspiration, Paula. I'll keep you posted. I hope you continue to enjoy and appreciate your personal oasis!

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  2. Thank you, Darrelyn :) I don't know if you read my "Cemetery Serenity" post, but I totally understand your opinion about abutting a cemetery!

    Keep dreaming about your backyard area -- and try "shopping the house" for seating and tidbits to add. You'd probably be pleasantly surprised at what you already have on hand that you COULD use in that space, with a little creativity -- maybe an old wooden chair, or even a stool recovered with a scrap of fabric -- an old picture frame strategically placed around a potted plant -- you might just surprise yourself with the results:)

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Your potted plants are truly gorgeous, but that "in the ground" garden doesn't look too bad to me!

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  4. Ah, but you see, I didn't show you the ones in the BACK yard. That's where it's REALLY bad. We had to cut down a couple of trees, one being a sumac. It's like that mythological creature that when you cut of one of its heads, it grows 14 in its place -- they are sprouting up ALL OVER, and all the back gardens are a disaster!

    Thank you for your kind words, though, Katie :)

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  6. Your porch is beautiful and the curbside appeal is outstanding. Just lovely!!

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  7. Everything looks just lovely! your herbs look wonderful and healthy!!

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  8. oh, I love that you mentioned that weeds are beautiful too. Weeds are so useful, so many make seeds that the birds love to eat. In fact, in the past, that is how people fed the birds they kept in their homes, in cages. It is silly to me how often we are influenced to not value items because Madison Avenue has told us not to.
    Sorry if I am ranting, but I love weeds!

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  9. suzieQ -- that's a really good point about the value of weeds beyond their beauty -- and I didn't know that's how people used to feed their pet birds! It is strange how our values tend to shift to useless things -- like postage stamp sized, manicured lawns instead of fields of food.

    Thanks for stopping by -- I'm glad you did:)

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