I bought two Boston ferns at the local supermarket, Super One Foods, and divided them to make four hanging baskets. I water them every day because it is very hot and dry here in Texas. Also they are fed with Miracle Grow at least once a week to keep their dark green color.
I had the porch replaced a year ago. The front seal beams on the house had rotted and Roger, my contractor, had to jack up the house, replace the beams, tear off the old rotted porch floor, and install a new floor. Then he stained it, and also painted the porch ceiling a light blue. The old Southern custom to paint porch ceilings "haint blue" was because ghosts, haints, or spirits supposedly cannot cross water. So they would not be able to enter your house because they thought the blue ceiling was water.
The front flower bed had an old overgrown boxwood hedge. Roger had to cut it back so drastically in order to do the carpentry on the porch that it looked awful. The whole back side of the hedge was just bare sticks. So one day I said, "Roger, do you have your chainsaw with you?" He said,
"Now what are you thinking about?" But he did admit after the hedge was leveled to the ground, that it did open up the porch and make it look a lot better. I actually thought that the hedge would come back from the roots, so I planted Knockout roses, perennials, and annuals around the stumps, and mulched heavily. However, the boxwoods gave up the ghost, so I now have a front bed that I am proud of, and I get lots of compliments on it from neighboors, or even strangers who stop to compliment it.
I bought this blue gazing ball and stand on sale at Hobby Lobby and planted a dark blue salvia next to it. Also I picked up this yellow butterfly stake. I like it because it sways and the wings flutter in the breeze. I hope you enjoyed your tour of my porch, you are welcome to visit any time.
