Last October we turned our porch into a spooky seasonal display with pumpkins, spiders, and bare branches. This summer, unintentionally, we recreated a similar look — but more “abandoned house” than “Halloween chic.” Here’s what happened and how we fixed it.
With a newborn in the house, porch plant care slipped down the priority list, and the once-green planters slowly turned into a sea of brown. It didn’t happen overnight — a few pots went from droopy to fully dried out — until the overall effect was more forlorn than intentional.
Some of the planters reached the point where the plants were completely gone and the pots looked like they’d been abandoned for months.
It was embarrassing, honestly. We finally decided to tackle the porch refresh—not only for ourselves, but to restore a little curb appeal for our Project Sell This House goals. The solution turned out to be quick, affordable, and low-maintenance.
A short trip to Home Depot delivered a handful of colorful, seasonal plants: two mums, a pansy, and a hosta. These choices were deliberate: mums provide bold seasonal color, pansies add delicate contrast, and hostas work well in shady spots.
We planned to put the mums in the two large square planters that had been home to struggling boxwoods. Rather than uprooting and replanting directly into the soil — which often fails on our shady, covered porch — we chose a simpler strategy: leave the mums in their retail containers and set those containers into the planters. It’s an easy seasonal trick that preserves the original soil and makes swapping plants quick and simple.
Placing the potted mums directly into the planters gave instant, dramatic color without the commitment of establishing permanent shrubs. When the season changes, the containers can be swapped out in seconds — a practical approach for renters, busy households, or sellers staging a home.
The other smaller plants — the pansy and the hosta — were easy to dig in because they were compact. I planted them into their assigned pots so they would root a bit, but the overall maintenance remains minimal: occasional watering and moving them into sunlight a few times a week to keep them fresh in our shady porch environment.
After planting, we swept the porch to remove debris and dust. Fortunately, the painted deck stripes we added last spring are holding up well and still look crisp, which helps the whole entry feel cared for even when life gets hectic.
All told, the refresh cost less than $35: the mums were $12 each and the rest of the plants came in at roughly $10 total. For a small investment and about 20 minutes of effort, we reclaimed the porch from “creepy” to “cheery.”
A few practical tips from our quick porch makeover for anyone tackling their own entryway:
- Choose seasonal potted plants for instant color and easy swapping between seasons.
- Use larger decorative planters and set nursery pots inside them to avoid replanting in poor light conditions.
- Move potted plants into sunlight periodically if the porch is shaded to keep them healthy.
- Sweeping and simple staging (a clean doormat, a couple of pots) goes a long way toward improving curb appeal.
We even used our new porch as an easy introduction to a neighbor: “We’re the house with the yellow flowers on the porch.” That’s definitely more appealing than admitting we were the house with the dead orange bushes.
How about your entryway? If curb appeal has slipped in your busy season, consider a low-effort refresh with potted seasonal plants and a quick tidy-up. Small updates can make a big difference in how welcoming your home looks and feels.