Summertime is here and it's time to spend some lazy days on the porch sipping lemonade and playing badminton.
I wish!
I think those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are over for me. Probably for all of us. Now it's all about running around, driving kids to baseball games and trying to be 1st in line at the yard sales. Summer goes by in one big WHOOSH!
But at least with my porch, I can act like I'm still living the summer dream.
Front Porch Decor For Summer
This year when I was decorating my front porch for the UPS man and me, I decided to go with a pink, flamingo, badminton, snapdragon theme.
I thought he might enjoy the casual somewhat eclectic look I was going for.
OK, I'm going to be real here. I started out having NO IDEA idea what it was going to end up as.
But I knew I wanted to do something other than farmhouse since I've done that before. And something that did not involve putting a thermos or picnic basket of any kind on the porch, because again, been there done that (although I almost caved on that one more than once).
So I started with some ferns in urns (hey, that rhymes) and added in some peachy pink geraniums in my vintage pots and built it out from that.
I bought those stoneware pots at a church rummage sale a few years ago and LOVE them. They're heavier than you would think, but aren't we all.
Then I put my black porch rockers out here and chose my flamingo pillows I made from fabric found at JoAnn's last year.
You just cannot go wrong with black rockers on a porch.
The turquoise blue table was originally a weird color when I found it at a yard sale. It had originally been oak and then someone had painted it a much darker wood color, but painting something a wood color instead of staining it is always a bad choice. Always.
So I spray painted it with Rustoleum's Vintage Teal spray paint to cover the ugly.
And to that I added a potted faux fern (I have enough plants to water out here this summer), a badminton racket and a vintage camera.
Because if you're fancy enough to be drinking lemonade on the porch and to be playing badminton in your front yard, you're fancy enough to be taking photos of yourself with a vintage camera.
And then I rounded it out with planting some dianthus Jolt cherry in my flowerbed.
I have never grown this variety of dianthus before, so I'm anxious to see what they look like after a few weeks. Hopefully full and lush and not wilted and dead.
And topped it off with a crate of multi-colored snapdragon.
I found the simple wooden crate last summer at a barn sale and knew I wanted to put it in the flower beds somewhere. And since we had dug out some overgrown bushes from in front of the porch last year and haven't replaced them yet, I thought this would be the perfect place to use it.
These snapdragon are probably way too cramped in this planter, but I'll just move a few of them if they start fighting among themselves.
I tend to over plant my containers so they look full at the start of the summer.
And before I knew it, my pink, flamingo, badminton, snapdragon themed porch was complete!
If you'd like more information on how to grow snapdragon I found a nice video about it from Donna Emery from Glover Nursery you can see HERE and a great tutorial all about How To Grow Snapdragon from Gardener's Path HERE.
Have you gotten your porch decorated yet? Or am I the only later bloomer this year?
Other porch decor inspiration can be found on my Porch Decor And Inspiration Category Page HERE.
Other posts you may enjoy:
Old Fashioned Flowers For Your Garden
Bliss
Dear Pam Porch, I love snapdragons so I have pinned this to remind me I should plant some.
The Furnshop
I just love these front porch decoration pictures. Thanks for sharing this post. This front porch decor is indeed refreshing summer style.
Lorraine
Your porch looks greal! You make me laugh .....just what I need now. Happy Summer!
Pamela
I bought that same Flamingo fabric last summer and still need to cover my pillows for my back deck. You have inspired me to get my butt moving and get it done. The teal goes perfectly with the teal in the pillows so great job there.
You never fail to make me smile with your posts.
Pam
Great minds think alike! I love that fabric!
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
Your porch is so perfect for summer! I love the colors...and those snapdragons! I have put out big ferns again this year, too!
Pam
Thank you! The ferns are so easy to take care of too.
Karen Steinmann
Put my shepherd hooks in the front flower bed about 3 weeks ago. Just didn't get around to looking at flowers. Finally Sunday I bought two but need another for the smaller hook. Porch planter is still bare. We did get the back porch cleaned off , furniture washed and put back Sunday evening. So far behind. It may be 4th of July before I get it all together. Love your porch and what you do with it every season. Wish I had a covered front porch but have to do with my big back porch. Thanks for the inspirations always
Pam
You are welcome, Karen! I love decorating my porch!
Florence
Pam, your middle name should be "porch" b/c you post a lot about that, & when I'm attempting to do mine, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about you & yours. Hope you don't mind me calling you "Pam Porch," but it's a compliment, I assure you! Somehow I missed out on the decorator gene, so figuring out how to decorate mine doesn't come easy. I always admire yours. I was just reading about how one should have foundation pots beside the front door (your ferns in urns) b/c it adds so much to curb appeal. I have to worry about that now since we'll be selling our house in the next year of two. I love the snapdragons you have, by the way. So colorful and they're kind of an old-fashioned flower.
Pam
I think that will be my new nickname - Pam Porch! I sort of went nuts on snapdragons this year. That and zinnia. I don't normally plant a lot of annuals, but they give more bang for the price, so I stocked up on annuals this year!
Florence
I love zinnias too. Just about love any kind of flower. I can tell you've been doing lots of work in your flower beds, especially since you've just removed bushes. Annuals are good b/c they reseed themselves lots of times.