A Cottage Inspired Garden Porch Makeover!

posted in: Cottage Gardening | 6

Hi Ya Folks!

Aside from the MANY tornados that ripped through our area this past Saturday evening, the weather here in Eastern North Carolina has been just beautiful lately!  The sun has been shining, the birds are singing again and the temps have been staying in the upper 60’s ~ lower 70’s. Just PERFECT in my book! Time to open the windows and let the fresh air in!

Today I wanted to take you on a tour of my “Cottage” inspired garden porch. I am not a master gardener. I am not sure I even have a “Green” thumb as I have killed many plants over the years, BUT I do love to dig in the dirt. I have a vision for my yard….you know the kind of Cottage gardens shown in Country Living  and Cottage Garden magazines? I love Roses, Sunflowers, Black Eyed Susans, Purple Cone flowers and the kind of daisy like flowers you would find in the country.

I love having a front porch. It was a MUST when we were building this home and of course the designer in me just HAS to decorate it just as I would any room inside the house.

Here are a couple of “Before” shots just as Spring was starting to bless us with its warm rays of sunshine.

Porch makeover

After a long and very cold winter my front porch was looking tired and needed some help.Porch Makeover Before

And here is my porch after I’ve made a few changes. I bought the beautiful Purple Verbena hanging baskets at Lowe’s Home Improvement. ($20 for both, not bad!) They love full sun.

spring front porch

The vintage bike I have parked in the front garden really needed some help. I had painted it pink a few years back and now it was pretty rusty and the paint was falling off. A little too shabby for me.

vintage bikeI gave it a new red paint job and I think it looks alot better!vintage bike garden artI added a few potted flowers as well. Red Geraniums in a terracotta pot just screams “country” to me. I adore them.Spring Flowers

I bought a few cheerfully red Gerber daisies and plopped them in polka dotted pots I painted last year.Spring flowers

 

Looking for a new use to an old license plate? I built this birdhouse when we moved to NC years ago and used our old New York license plate as the roof.recycled license plate birdhousespring front porchAnd here’s a quick tip. Turn old rubber rain boots into vases for fresh cut flowers! I just put a glass jar inside the boot, filled it with water and added the Daisies. I think they are as cute as can be!

Here are a few shots of my garden from last year….

Black eyed susans pink rose bud spring carnationsgeraniumssummer bloomssummer potted plantsunflower spring rose bloomsbutterfly bushSalvia welcome garden signcottage garden

Will my garden be “magazine picture perfect” someday? Perhaps not, but I am having fun all the same!

Thanks for stopping by today!

~Lisa

[signoff]

 

Subscribe to Lisa’s Blog via email and never miss a post! Learn how to decorate on a budget creatively, get crafty ideas and be inspired to tackle your own design projects!

6 Responses

  1. Debbi

    Lisa, I LOVE your porch! The vintage bikes in the cottage garden is amazing. Thanks for sharing:)

  2. Shannon@vintagerestyled

    I’m so glad you found my blog! I enjoyed your website and posts – you are so talented! I’m your newest follower!

    • Lisa Hogan

      Hi Shannon,
      I enjoyed looking at your projects on your blog too. Its so nice to network with other creative gals that love to revamp and redesign! Happy Blogging:)
      ~Lisa

  3. abeachcottage

    Great post. Love your porch and what a wonderful red bike! Thanks for stopping by Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays and adding your link!

  4. Karie

    Oh, I love your blog! Beautiful, beauiful. And your porch is adorable. Love it. The bike is a charmer. Really it is. . . Thanks for sharing your loveliness. Hugs, Karie

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *