April 17, 2009
Hello to all our porch loving friends,
Spring has sprung in Tennessee and we know it’s not far behind in other parts of the country as well. We’ve had our share of Spring showers, the flowers are blooming, our trees are spring green and our backyard birdhouses are all occupied.
We have added many more pages to our site since our last newsletter and we have been getting an overwhelming number of visitors. Yeah! Thank you, everyone! We will continue to add more content daily so always check back to see the latest.
Our wish is that you enjoy time on your porch as much as we do. Please let us know if you have any suggestions for our site; our goal is to make it enjoyable and informative for you. We welcome your comments!
Happy Porch Sitting, Dave and Mary
Porch Tidbits
Spring is a great time to “spruce up” your porch or start planning how you will furnish and decorate for Spring. One great way to improve curb appeal and add a lot of flair to your porch and home is landscaping.Normally we don’t associate landscaping and porches; however, they do complement each other rather well. Here are a few landscaping ideas you may find useful:
- Tie your home and porch visually to the surrounding landscape- give it personality.
- Make your porch welcoming with porch landscaping that draws attention with color, shape and textures
- Block wind or noise from your porch - you will be happy you did
- Accentuate the positive and hide unsightly features like an old dilapidated building or your neighbor's rusting car.
- Don't forget to light your landscaping. Let us help you understand how to install landscape lighting.
- Keep walkways clear and control the water runoff
- When planting, keep in mind what the landscape will look like when it's fully grown - and how much care it will take.
- Take advantage of Mother Nature to save you money like collecting water in rain barrels
- If you love working in the yard, then fussy plants might be a good pick for you. Otherwise, pick plants, grasses and elements that are sturdy and low-maintenance.
We’ve added a front porch ideas guide so you can match your landscaping to the architectural style of your home and porch.
Learn lots more at Front Porch Ideas and More Landscaping section.
Porch maintenance tip
Water runoff is really an important consideration for your home and porch. It’s essential that you keep water away from your home’s foundation and also from your porch piers/supports.Here’s an idea that can save you money, keep the water at bay, and improve your landscaping all in one! Create a rain garden! A rain garden is a shallow plant-filled depression that catches and holds the rainwater from your downspouts. As the water drains down through the soil it supplies water to the plants and foliage surrounding it.
You can use this on borders or as “gardens” in your yard. You can make one large garden or have several smaller ones around your property. Just make sure they are at least 10 feet from your foundation and drain easily. You’ll save money on watering, the gardens will add immense curb appeal, and you’ll be confident that the water will not affect your foundation.
Herb garden on your porch
What’s Spring without plants? Porches are great places for hanging baskets and railing planters. But you can also augment your garden by growing herbs right on your porch. Many can be grown in container gardens and depending on how much sun your porch receives you will have a variety of herbs to cultivate.Is your porch too shaded? Grow herbs in colorful pots on sides of your steps or in front of your porch. What herbs should I grow? Many new herb gardeners usually have a problem deciding which herbs to plant because of the large number of herbs from which to select.
You can check your supermarket or cookbooks to determine what herbs you should grow, but here’s a quick starter’s list of recommended herbs for beginning herb growers:
- Strong herbs: winter savory, rosemary, sage
- Herbs strong enough for accent: sweet basil, dill, mint, sweet marjoram, tarragon, thyme
- Herbs for blending: chives, parsley, summer savory
Want to be published?
Front-Porch-Ideas-and-More.com is all about our passion for front porches and the fond memories that Dave and I have of time spent on porches. But now, we want to give YOU the opportunity to share your own stories and pictures with us. You are the reason why we have our site so we especially love hearing from you about your own porch.Do you have a childhood memory about your front porch? We love hearing from you and we appreciate receiving heart-warming and fun stories and pictures. Submit your favorite porch memory to us.
Do you have a porch decorating idea to share with our site visitors? Some neat decorating idea (large or small) you have done with your own porch that we could share for all to see? Submit your decorating ideas to us.
Nifty porch product!
Decorative shoe/ boot brushes (like the one pictured here) keep your floors cleaner and your home healthier. I’m always bringing in grass from my shoes; wiping my feet on mats just doesn’t do it. From happy hedgehogs to lovable Labradors, whimsical decorative boot brushes come in many different styles.
Place it at the bottom of your porch steps or by the front door and it will help keep your entryway warm, cleaner and friendly. Choose one made of cast iron and it will last a long time.
For this and other great outdoor decor items, browse this site and see what you can find to freshen up your porch this spring!
See you in May
May you take a few moments and put your feet up on your porch swing. We hope you are enjoying spring where you live. Take a little time each day to enjoy your porch! We love hearing from you.
Are you motivated to change your life?
Do you have a hobby or passion? What do you enjoy doing? “Are you motivated to change your life?” That’s a quote I came across one day when reading GreatDay.com by Ralph Marston.As Ralph Marston states: "How would you like to earn a living doing something that you love, something that interests you, something that provides a continuing sense of meaningful challenge and fulfillment?
How you would like to know, every day that you’re providing something of real value to others, something that can truly have a positive influence on the world? There’s something within you, something unique and valuable, interesting and worthwhile, that is yours to share with others. There are people all over the world who are looking for passion and expertise that you have to offer."
You do not have to be technical to do what we do.
That’s one of the things that is so amazing about it. The tool that we are using to build our Front-Porch-Ideas-and-More website not only has all the tools you need to create, promote and grow a profitable website, it actually leads you through a proven process to come up with the initial concept and focus of the site. Whether you have a specific idea, a vague idea or no idea at all, it has tools that help you zero in on a concept that has traffic-generating and money making potential.
We are a living testimony that it works and the many others who have preceded us. We love the positive, inspiring people we’re meeting through Site Build It and the unlimited customer support. Even if you’re not interested in building your own e-business, you’ll be inspired by these everyday people who’ve taken their passions and developed a business around it – like retirees, students and work-at-home moms (WAHMs). It’s all good stuff.