About five months ago we first showed you the exterior of our house. That was our very first week here, and since then our outdoor spaces have been in regular use. You’ve already seen how our second-story deck came together, and today we’re updating the front porch, the covered side porch, and the new landscaping we’ve added.
We’ve made functional and organizational changes, added aesthetic touches, and started a few projects that are still in progress. Join us on the front porch — here’s what it looks like now:
This next photo, from May, shows how the porch started out — existing furniture and a few plants to make the space feel lived-in. Most items simply came out of a storage pod, while the ferns were a grocery-store find:
And here we are today. I did promise “big plants” in the title:
Our planning strategy could be summed up as “more plants.” Even though the surrounding landscape is already lush, adding container plants makes the porch feel like a continuation of the outdoors and creates a warm, welcoming entry.
Between the front porch, the side porch, and our upstairs deck we’re lucky to have several usable outdoor “rooms.” We’ve been intentional about creating low-maintenance spaces we’ll actually use. The large second-story deck naturally became the area for a dining table and seating for larger groups — we were drawn out there for meals and games even before furniture arrived.
The front porch, by contrast, is more of a quiet spot for one or two people to sip tea, listen to a podcast, or watch the dog. We kept seating minimal and functional rather than overcrowding the space, and Sherry embraced her plant-mom tendencies. There are three chairs on the porch, but this woven egg chair is our favorite — Burger loves it too.
Some of the containers hold lemon trees that should bear fruit soon — neighbors with green thumbs say our Ponderosa lemons will be ready next month. Over the summer Sherry expanded our planter collection with finds from home improvement stores and the local nursery. The growth in just a few months has been impressive, especially the large split-leaf philodendron.
NOTE: We digitally altered our house number in the photos.
We also added privacy plantings around the property to create a green buffer between the yard and the street. Here’s a shot from farther back:
In May, the shallow front yard left little to separate us from the road. We’ve focused landscaping efforts on creating a living “fence” that should fill in for greater privacy. The palm-like shrubs we planted are the same variety a neighbor has, so we can see how large they will eventually grow.
Fast forward five months, and we added a simple paver pathway using 20 x 20″ white pavers. It’s an easy, temporary solution to keep feet clean and introduce a soft curve that breaks up the straight lines of the exterior. Eventually we’ll set them more permanently and make them flush with the ground.
We extended a secondary path toward the side yard where the kids’ favorite tree swing hangs. The swing gets a lot of use for reading, snacks, and spinning each other silly. The front area is left relatively low-maintenance — we use pine straw (also called pine needles locally) instead of grass, which fits the neighborhood’s Old Florida vibe and reduces mowing.
Many neighbors rely on mostly native plantings that thrive without irrigation, so when we spot successful plants in nearby yards we can usually source them at the local nursery and expect low maintenance. We also installed a rain chain that directs water into a pot with a drainage hole — it’s decorative, functional, and could feed a drip hose for future garden use.
Now for the covered area on the left of the front porch — the side porch. We began by adding a functional outdoor ceiling fan to keep air moving and reduce mosquitoes. We also painted the metal ceiling a soft blue (Waterscape by Sherwin Williams) after using metal primer to make the space feel less raw and more finished.
Painting helped, but because the ceiling is the underside of a metal roof it still reads a bit industrial. Eventually we’ll likely add beadboard or wood planks to give the porch a warmer, more finished look. We’re also planning a DIY hanging daybed where two metal chairs currently sit — the beams and fan make it an ideal, covered spot for lounging. Materials have been on backorder, but we hope to start soon.
Opposite the chairs we added an oversized woven storage box. It stores beach chairs, umbrellas, helmets, pool noodles, and toys — everything we’d otherwise leave in a pile. It also helps camouflage utility boxes that the builder placed on the front of the house. We looked into relocating them, but it’s too costly, so this box plus a lightweight fern helps conceal the meters while remaining accessible for readings.
We’ll share our plan for the recently added generator and extra panel boxes soon. For now the storage box does a great job at tidying up the porch.
Finally, the outdoor shower we pressure-washed a while back has come into its own. After adding hanging planters to the ceiling, it quickly became a lush, favorite spot for most of us (Burger, unsurprisingly, dislikes baths). The plants love the environment and the shower is now a daily highlight.
We’ve made a lot of progress in five months — from plant growth to practical upgrades — and the outdoor areas feel fuller and more inviting. Thanks for taking the tour with us.
More Plant Guides
If you want more information on some of our favorite plants and plant care projects, check out these posts:
- Fiddle Leaf Fig Care Guide
- Tree Philodendron Care Guide
- How to Build an Easy Plant Shelf
- Protecting Outdoor Plants in a Deep Freeze
- Getting Started with Houseplants: An Expert Interview
- My Favorite Faux Plants
- Easy Houseplants to Keep Alive
- 10 Houseplants for Better Indoor Air Quality
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