5 Ways to Add Flowers to Your Porch
October 1, 2019The addition of any kind of vegetation around a new home is a great way to enhance its curb appeal and create an inviting aesthetic appeal. Both annual and perennial flowers, and even many species of vines and shrubbery, can provide color and brighten the exterior of the dwelling. Plantings are an important facet of a new home plan. When they are properly incorporated, they contribute to the overall design and style of the structure. An easy way to add a little nature to the front of your home is to add flowers to your porch. Here are a few ways to add flowers to your porch:
1. Add Planters to Frame Your Entryway
The use of planters is a great, and simple, way to create designated spaces to plant flowers. They also create some structure and depth to the landscaping and construction design around the entrances of your home. There are many styles and materials to choose from and plenty of ideas for a new planter. The design of your home will help to direct you toward the options that are right for you.
Round, free-standing ceramic planters are a good option if you are looking for something a little less permanent and wish to retain the option of moving the planter at some point. These planters can be used on porches or alongside doorways to “frame” these areas of the home.
Other popular options are raised planter boxes. These types of planters can be made of a variety of different materials from wood to composites and even stone. Custom planters can be constructed in various shapes that allow them to frame the walkways leading to your home’s entryway or even the steps leading to a front or back porch.
Permanent planters are also often constructed as part of a hardscape design. When designed in such a way, planters can be added around the perimeter of porches or patios and provide these areas with a “boundary”. They can also be used to create a more attractive transition to the front or back yard grass areas of the property.
2. Put a Flower Wreath on the Front Door
As simple as it may sound, adding a wreath to your door is a great way to spruce up your new home and add a feeling of warmth and invitation when guests arrive.
The great thing about this type of décor is that it is easily changed with the seasons. In fact, adding a seasonal wreath is one of the classic ideas for fun front door decor. Don’t overlook the aesthetic value that a door hanging can add to your home!
3. Use Hanging Baskets
Another one of the ways to add flowers to your porch is to use hanging baskets. Hanging flower baskets are a popular choice of homeowners who wish to add some seasonal color to the outside of the home.
Hardware can be included in your porch design that will allow you the convenience of hanging pre-planted baskets that can be purchased from your local greenhouse. Many times, hanging baskets are incorporated with covered porches, which have overhangs that naturally provide a convenient place to display the baskets.
If your new home does not have a covered porch, there are still plenty of options available to incorporate hanging baskets along the exterior of your home. Hardware can be added to porch railings and stands can be included within the landscaping that will allow you to take full advantage of the benefits of hanging flower baskets.
Plus, hanging baskets are relatively low maintenance. For the most part, they require just routine watering and sunlight to provide plentiful color to the exterior of the house.
4. Hang Window Boxes Near the Porch or Over the Railing
Window boxes are another one of the ways to add flowers to your porch. They also tend to provide a quick and convenient means to display flowers around the home. Given their name, they can be installed on the home’s windows.
But, you can also let your imagination run with this option a bit. For example, porch railings also provide a great place for the incorporation of window boxes. As such, the window boxes can become a great alternative to hanging baskets.
Some plant species may not be the best candidates for hanging baskets, so they can add their own unique colors to the home by being planted in window boxes instead. The size, shape, and style of the window boxes should mesh well with the exterior aesthetic and style of your home, so choose these items wisely.
Additionally, when considering this option, contemplate whether you want the boxes to be removable and put into storage during the winter months or if they will be more permanent in nature. These decisions may impact the shape, size, and materials of the boxes are constructed, so it’s good practice to consider these specifics beforehand.
5. Grow Colorful Climbing Vines Around Your Railings
Growing climbing vine species around the exterior of your new home does not provide quite the same immediate returns as planting annual or even perennial flowers. However, good things take time and so it is with climbing plant species.
Realistically, the wait is minimal as most of these types of vegetation are surprisingly aggressive in their growth cycles. The result of planting a climbing vine around your porch, and training it to grow around railings or lattice below the porch decking, is a very natural look for the exterior of your home.
There are many flowering species of climbing vines that you can incorporate within the landscaping of your new property. They can serve to both hide parts of your home’s exterior and also provide additional privacy when they are grown on railings or a porch’s privacy wall(s). For example, a flowering climbing vine can add a beautiful look to your landscaping while also hiding the underside of your porch from the curbside view.
It’s important that you are certain that you wish to include this type of vegetation because climbing vine species can be hardy, resilient, and surprisingly fast-growing. Due to these attributes, they will require more work and maintenance than some of the other ways to add flowers to your porch. However, don’t let that deter you. Homes that feature climbing vines around their exterior receive some great aesthetic and functional benefits!
These are just a few ways to add flowers to your porch, which are all also great spring outdoor decor ideas. When designing your new dream home, it’s easy to focus on the interior, but you don’t want to overlook the need to plan out the exterior of your dream home. You will want your beautiful new home to look inviting to family and friends and that starts with making careful decisions about how you will decorate and add color and depth to your landscaping.
If you are ready to plan your new home construction, we can help to guide you through the process from beginning to end. Here, at Custom Home Group, we love partnering with homeowners to turn dreams into reality, so give us a call at 717-284-4090.