CITRINELIVING SUMMER FLOWERS FOR THE FRONT PORCH

The weather has finally warmed up here and it has felt like summer for the past week – what a treat it is for those of us who live in a northern climate. Last weekend we got around to getting the yard ready and it’s so nice to see everything finally growing! I showed you the porch a few weeks ago when there still were no leaves on the trees. You can check it out HERE.I’ll be participating in a Summer home tour in a couple of weeks and I’m hoping that even though my peonies won’t be in bloom yet, that I’ll at least have fuller garden beds by then. I thought it would be fun to share the progress with you, from early spring, up until then.Clearly, we still have a lot to do and it is looking somewhat bare. Although I admit (as I have many times before), I am no gardener. I wish I was and am so jealous of people who love it. It seems so enjoyable and therapeutic, but sadly, it’s just not for me. I much prefer the low or no maintenance kind of gardening!I don’t even plant flowers in our pots. I actually buy the hanging baskets, remove the hangers and stick them in the pots – it doesn’t get easier than that! Someone had suggested planting begonias for my pots, so that’s what I went with – they’re similar in color to the new guinea impatiens I had last year, a beautiful coral. I’m really counting on these doing well.
Some of my grasses that I planted a few years ago don’t look like they’re coming back, so I’ll be digging them up soon. I bought these beautiful purlpe flowers that should fill in nicely so I’m very anxious to see how they do. Aren’t they so pretty and dainty? I love seeing them in the distance against the begonias, the colors are so gorgeous together. I love these begonias, they look like little roses. I’m also still loving my new lanterns I purchased last month as well.My daughter wanted to have her own little plant to take care of, so she picked this geranium which is a beautiful vibrant fuchsia. The little black stand it’s sitting on needs some TLC, so I’ll simply be spray painting it a matte black to bring it back to life. You can easily revive pieces that are starting to weather. We even did that with our patio chairs. They were rusting in some spots, so we lightly sanded them and gave them a few quick coats and they look new again. I’m very anxious for the Summer tour that’s coming up, you’ll get to see a fabulous group of bloggers and their homes all decked out for the season. I don’t really do much in the way of Summer decor inside the house, I’ll most likely be showing you more of the front porch (I’m crossing my fingers there’s fuller plants in the gardens) and the back patio and gazebo. Until then, I’ll just enjoy this gorgeous weather we’re having. Happy Weekend! xo