Welcome to Front Porch Appeal!
Hello, porch friends.
June’s finally here! The days are longer, the porch is the perfect spot to hang out, and everything’s looking green and full of life. Flowers are popping up everywhere, and the warm breeze makes it easy to just sit back and relax with a cold drink or your favorite book.
Summer’s just getting started, and it’s a great time to enjoy the little things—whether that’s watching the birds, listening to some tunes, or just soaking up the sunshine.
We hope your porch feels like the best place to kick back and enjoy the season. That's what we will be doing and we hope you will also.
Easy Gardening Tips
for Your Porch Garden
🌸 Brighten your porch with easy-to-grow flowers like geraniums, marigolds, or trailing petunias. Dave and I planted a bunch of marigolds this year.
🌸Plant a few herbs like basil or mint in pots for an added touch! We love having an herb garden at our house. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but we enjoy cutting a few fresh herbs to throw into salads and tacos - really anything we are cooking.
🌸Add hanging baskets with trailing flowers like ivy or nasturtiums for extra visual interest. If you can find a flower called "super tunias", they would be wonderful! They are adorable tiny petunia-like flowers that will spread and cascade.
🌸Consider placing a few potted lavender plants for fragrance, and try to rotate pots every once in a while to keep plants growing evenly. We also love lavender for its deer-resistant properties.
Summer "Mocktail" Recipes
for the Porch
🍋How about several fun "mocktail" drinks for your own enjoyment or to host friends on the porch.
🍋Cucumber Mint Cooler
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
A handful of fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
Sparkling water or club soda
Ice cubes
Mash cucumber slices and mint leaves with lime juice and honey in a glass. Fill with ice and top off with sparkling water. Stir gently and garnish with a cucumber slice and a sprig of mint.
🍋Berry Lemon Fizz
1/2 cup mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon simple syrup or honey
Sparkling water
Ice cubes
Mash the berries in a glass. Add lemon juice and simple syrup, then fill the glass with ice. Top with sparkling water and give it a light stir. Garnish with a few whole berries
or a lemon wheel.
🍋Peach Ginger Spritz
1 ripe peach, sliced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon honey
Ginger ale or sparkling water
Ice cubes
Mash peach slices and ginger in a glass. Add lemon juice and honey, then ice. Top with ginger ale or sparkling water. Stir gently and garnish with a peach slice.
Porches to Enjoy
Pretty shakes on the porch
Summertime on the porch
What a grand porch!
What lovely porch landscaping on this beautiful home
Porch Reads
📚 A tried-and-true pastime on the porch is reading. Grab a lighthearted novel, a favorite magazine, or even a gardening book to enjoy with a glass of iced tea. (Another fun hobby I enjoy doing on the porch is making art, but we can talk about that another time.)
Here are some suggested books for starters:
"The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth von Arnim for a feel-good novel
"Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott for writing inspiration
"Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer for nature lovers
"The Little Book of Hygge" by Meik Wiking for cozy living
"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett for a timeless classic
Enjoy Music on the Porch!
🎶 We once had a home with outdoor speakers on the porch. Now, that was extra nice!
Whether you enjoy playing the guitar, harmonica, your favorite streaming music or an old-fashioned record player, here are some feel-good song ideas for a relaxing porch day:
🎶 'Here Comes the Sun' by The Beatles
🎶'Banana Pancakes' by Jack Johnson
🎶 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by Ella Fitzgerald
🎶'Moondance' by Van Morrison
🎶'Take It Easy' by The Eagles
🎶 'Summertime' by Norah Jones
🎶 'Come Away with Me' by Norah Jones
🎶 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong
You could also try...
🎶 'Lovely Day' by Bill Wither
🎶 'Put Your Records On' by Corinne Bailey Rae
🎶 'Sunday Morning' by Maroon 5
🎶 'Sittin On The Dock of the Bay' by Otis Redding
🎶 'Cheek to Cheek' by Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald
Delicious Recipes for
Your Summer Porch
As summer begins, fresh fruits and vegetables are on the menu. With the help of AI, we have a few simple recipes for you here. Might be nice for a graduation party, bridal shower, or porch time with family and friend.
🍓 Quick and Easy Strawberry Salad
Toss fresh strawberries with mixed greens, a sprinkle of feta cheese, and a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. We tried this for dinner today and also added some mandarin oranges, pecans, pumpkin seeds and golden raisins. Serve chilled.
🍓 Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Red Onion
For a refreshing side, add diced cucumbers, chopped tomatoes and red onion rings to a salad bowl. Then add a dash of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Also try a cucumber and tomato salad with red onion, a dash of olive oil, and a sprinkle of sea salt.
🍓 Fresh Fruit Salsa
Combine diced peaches, strawberries and a hint of lime juice and serve with tortilla chips.
Another
fun treat is grilled corn on the cob with butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan or chili powder for a flavor boost.
🍓Grilled Corn on the Cob
A fun treat is grilled corn on the cob with butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan or chili powder for an extra flavor boost.
Popular Topics on Our Site
We invite you to visit some of our trending topics...and thank you so much.
Mobile Home Porch Ideas
How to Make Porch Privacy Panels
Porch Steps
Ranch Home Porches
Tornado Storm Shelters
Have You Met
Our Wonderful Sponsors?
We greatly appreciate your support of our treasured sponsors. Each of them is like family to us and we are very proud of their products. They have been with us for a long time!
Photo courtesy of PCA Products
Look at this beautiful screen door . Isn't it so lovely on this welcoming porch?
We feel privileged to get to visit the PCA factory where their doors are built and we are very impressed with their innovation, quality and durability.
We've been proud to share PCA Products with you for many years and this is one of our favorite products.
For timeless appeal: Beautiful Porch Parts
from Vintage Woodworks
Aren't these spandrels, balusters and brackets from Vintage Woodworks so attractive? Their porch headquarters is filled with wonderful products to bring out the beauty in your porch.
We are sp proud of our long time sponsor, Vintage Woodworks, a leader in handcrafted house trim since 1978. They can assist you in choosing just the right design options for your porch and home.
Double Cathedral Picket Stair Panels from the Porch Store
Can you imagine these lovely railings leading up to your front door? They are The Porch Store's Double Cathedral Picket Stair Panels.
We welcome you to take a look at The Porch Store products on their website.
They have long been sponsors to us and we could not be more proud.
Till Next Time...
We know you're busy and we appreciate you being a part of our porch family here. The lovely rhododendron pic is from Gaby Stein (pixabay).
May you enjoy the month of June as summer unfolds right before our eyes. Take some time to just relax, read a good book, listen to the birds and delight in the moments you are in.
See you on the porch.
Our best always,
Mary and Dave
|
