They look beautiful to me! I just love the front of your house, so maybe I'm predjudiced :^)

I have to agree that they look too small. The color is great, tho!

Instead of placing them directly under the lights, since you have decorations on your door already, what about putting planters in the corners? That way you could use something larger and more round, or even square, and it would fill the space and draw the eye across the entry and the corners won't feel so bare. Even try moving these to see if that works better, tho I think their small size is still an issue.

Or you could try a demilune planter on each side, which would echo the shape of your mat:

demilune planter

In the first picture they look small but in the second (with the whole house) they look fine. You could possibly put them up on a pedestal (not too tall).
something similar to the ones on the link but I'm thinking fatter and shorter

Here is a link that might be useful: pedestal

Jumping in here because my mouth is hanging open.
Les, would someone actually pay 250.00 ea for those planters?
That would be $500 BIG ONES for 2!!!
I guess it amazes me the prices of things anymore.
I'm a bargain hunter.
Sorry for hijacking but my head reels sometimes at prices .

Whoa! I looked at the demilune planters, but somehow missed the price. That's just nuts! (And I'm sure Les wasn't suggesting those in particular -- just giving an idea of what she was referring to.)

Now, if that price was in pesos, I could understand ... ;-)

I think they need some heighth. Maybe you could put the urns on pedestals.

Moved more into the corner to see if this is better.

I teach container gardening classes and one of the (many) things we discuss to death is "scale".

Love the idea and color of your urns... but they are just too small. They seem to be smaller than the lights!

You could do an arrangement of 3 planters arranged at different heights to form a triangle. This can create more "mass" for a better impact. Do this arrangement on one or both sides of the door. A wrought iron chair on the other side of the door would balance the planters.

If you want to stick w/ the 2 urns... go MUCH larger. Check out some of the great new materials such as foam, fiberglass and even plastic.

Or perhaps just move the ones you have forward so they are by the steps and not right by the door. The perspective will change then and they won't look as small in comparison as they do now.

Hope I don't come off as insulting as that is NOT my intent. I've just found that scale is a common issue that folks don't take into consideration when planning their containers.

These are quite a bit bigger than the demilune ones that Les posted a link to. I can't even imagine what large ones like that would cost. These were $300 for the pair. Anything ceramic or cast iron wasn't cheap and I went with the cast iron thinking if I'm gonna pay that much I don't want them to get broken! They had a bigger size but I'm afraid the fern would look lost and DH would divorce me...lol. Maybe I can find a pedestal like mlraff suggested. I keep walking out there and thinking how good it looks then look at the pictures and think if I were giving you guys advice I'd say go bigger. And my back hurts from lugging them up there, I have a cast on my foot up to my knee so carrying cast iron around was a challenge. I was determined to get these things today. I really do like them. I think I'm going to live with them a while and if the size bothers me, I have a back patio they can go on and I can save for bigger ones next year. Or maybe find an end of season bargain :-)

Syllabus, you brought up some good points and I like the idea of maybe a grouping. You weren't insulting at all, but very helpful. I thought I WAS thinking of scale but I think I missed a bit. I was hesitant to go with plastic thinking they aren't cheap either and won't last long.
Ideamom, didn't mean to ignore your pedestal suggestion too. I plan to browse around and see what's available. I'm soooo frustrated and hot and tired right now. But you guys are right. They are too small. They are really pretty but they are smaill *sigh*.

I also think they are too small. Actually, they are too narrow. The bigger the pot size the less you will have to water too since they wont dry out as fast. I would go for a little taller, and much wider (if thats possible). While I love the ferns I think you need a taller arrangement. Like a purple fountain grass with a green sweet potato vine and a white wave petuna in each pot....just a suggestion because you have a tall porch, there is a lot of space between the top of the pot and the light fixture. I love the idea of 3 pots, you certainly have the room for it....then one pot could be the fern:)

Mimi, your entrance is lovely. I can add a warning though about cast iron urns. I got one last year and love the look, but they are prone to leaving rust spots on your porch. Painting with a rust paint didn't help. I was told that cast iron will always rust when exposed to water or dampness. Putting a piece of clear plastic runner under the pot has prevented further staining but I wish now that I had purchased one of the look-alikes.

Ok, I'm waiting for the nursery to call me back with the price of the larger one. They said they would exchange. I'm scared to find out but I'm in this deep and I want it to look right, thanks for listening :-)

$369 EACH for the next size up, I'm gonna go sulk. Well maybe others will read and learn from my mistake. Meanwhile I'll look at pedestals or maybe grouping them. I think my lights are placed too high too which doesn't help. The builder thought I was going to have lights that dropped instead of went up when he placed the holes. I need chocolate!

No, I wasn't suggesting spending that much on the pots! LOL Tho, I have learned not to assume what people can afford or choose to spend. I used to hesitate to post something expensive, but now I do as an idea, and if the person can afford the price, that works, too.

I would seriously consider doing one of the look alikes if you can. Pottery cracks in the cold, iron leaves rust marks (and can crack if it falls over). The look alikes have come a long way. And, down the line, if you decide you want to change out the look, you have likely spent way less money on the pots.

As for the pedestals, I am not sure I see that as working where you want them to be. How about this. See if you can get some of the curved blocks that are used as edging around trees, etc, in a color that compliments your brick. Create a half circle of those in each corner of the entry area, built up as high as the line of the brick foundation (filling in the middle as needed to create a solid platform). Then put the urns on those. It will fill the corners, give you more presence for the urns, and be a cheaper route than increasing the urn size, if you want to keep the urn shape.

I would send you some chocolate if I could get it there fast enough.

A trick to "creating the look of an Urn" using 2 identical pots , flip the 1st one upside down and sit the other one on top (bottom to bottom) - syllabus - don't cringe.....I'd love to take your class..........If you are doing a grouping, this is a way to achieve that height you need and the lower, front pots hide the bottom. Visually, it is neat and pleasing. mimi 2006, if you are considering more expensive urns, I apologize for suggesting what you may consider a tacky more cost effective idea. Your home is lovely and your entrance very inviting.
I agree the urns need to be larger and the Boston Ferns will not do the urns or your entrance justice. We buy Boston Ferns in the grocery stores here - very ordinary, please no offense intended. gk5040 has suggested a very nice assortment of plants for that container

(((Mimi))))
Your house is beautiful!! True southern style - the house I grew up in was that low country Louisiana style.

I am gonna guess and say you are hitting C'ville shops - Gurleys or Russells?? Get thee rear to Michigan City, MS. It is the highway that takes you to Slayden, MS (I can't remember if it's 72 or 78) There is a place on the south side of the road that has LOTS of cast concrete pots & a bunch of yard art:) You can probably find gnomes - hee hee:)

I got a set of large urns(heavy - take truck and DH) but I have had them about 10 years. I think they were $70 a piece. Same concrete urns they have at Russells- they probably buy them there wholesale.

Smiles:)

Mimi,

I do not think your lights are too high and I think that after you moved the urns a little more to the corners they looked much better.
I like the ferns, I think they go with your house.

I love the front of your home!

I also really like the color of the urns.

I recently purchased,at Walmart, some Better Homes and Gardens brand resin planters which are very nice. They are more of a stone color, however.

My suggestion would be to buy two of these planters in the urn style and spray paint them with Fusion spray paint(works on resin and plastic). They have come out this year with great colors including metallic finishes like your current urns. The planters I bought are square but are very large and cost $50.00 each. They're very nice quality.

I have black wrought iron urns that I bought two years ago and they do rust! I purchased some rectangular resin planters last year and sprayed them black with Fusion paint and you cannot tell the difference between the wrought iron ones.

Just an idea!

Good luck!

Dawn

I think they look fabulous! :D

I'm so glad you showed us pictures, thanks.

I didn't realize till now that your porch ceiling was painted baby blue -- I really like it. Your home looks just gorgeous and this was a wonderful addition.

I love them and now that they've been moved to the corner, I don't think they look too small at all.

Another hint for when you plant. Fill the bottom of the planter with something light like styrofoam peanuts and only fill the top half or 2/3 with dirt. Makes it easier to move and clean up in fall.

All I can say now is that I'm so spoiled and married to a wonderful man who also thought they looked too small :-) When I got home my neighbor across the cove yelled "better size" LOL. I had no idea she ever saw the first ones. They only sat there a couple hours.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments about the house. Johnatemp, I was at Stringers actually which is probably just as bad! I will write down the directions you gave so when I get brave enough to look for something for the back patio I can head there.

I do like ferns also, I was trying so hard for a southern traditional look. Is this better?

Better!

Mimi, I thought you were going to say Stringers (at the "triangle", right? :) We saw quite a few there in that color last weekend. They do sometimes carry the pedestals that go with those, and I think that would be perfect.

I agree with johnatemp...that highway (Hwy 72, I think) that heads toward Corinth has LOTS of statuary and planters at wholesale prices. Every time we head toward the coast, DH tells me we'll stop there again...and then, of course, we're always running too late to stop.

We do need to have a shopping/lunch date sometime! :)

Definately better, but as much as I love the ferns, you need height:)

Thanks Les, I'm not feeling the urge for chocolate so much now. I think the scale is better at least.

Southernheart, yes I was at the triangle. They had a pedestal in that color but only 1 left. And if I'd added the pedestal I would get height but not bulk and it would've cost about the same. We certainly stood there debating that though.

Thanks to busygirl and dawnp for the warning about the rust. I'm definitely going to put something under tham, plastic or indoor/ outdoor carpet square or something. I really appreciated all the input. You all confirmed what I already knew and came up with some good alternatives.

I felt today kinda like I did 20 years ago when I spent too much on a vacuum and bought a Kirby and kept thinking what have I done?!?! I just wanted it to be right, this is our forever house. I'll just put in some overtime lol.

much better! Happy mother's day!

Just coming in on the tail end, but YES - that size is much nicer! You have a lovely looking home!

Ooops gk5040, you posted at the same time I was. Maybe next yr I could try ivy and train it on those wire trellis things. That would give height? I gotta get out my gardening book and see if ivy grows in the shade, I'm telly you I have a BROWN thumb!

They look beautiful, the reason I suggested the fountain grass is it gives more color than ivy. I have used alberta spruces in pots before but they tend to get spider mites and then look aweful. In the fall I use a grass called auburn sedge, it actually looks like tall brown grass (looks dead) but if you put it next to a cabbage and veriagated sage its beautiful. Another great plant for the planters would be coleous. They get hugh over the summer. There are so many pretty colored coleous, then I would add a colored wave petuna to trail down. Just some ideas...I love doing pots:)

Mimi, they look great! Glad you are happier. What is really the most amazing thing about this thread is that it all occured in about 4 hours. You posted, got all this feedback, you went and searched for something else, and posted pictures again. That is amazing shopping and diligence by you and DH and great teamwork from this group!

Just a thought, if you are wanting more height, or want to see what it looks like, maybe you could put something inside the urn and under the pot that the fern is in to raise it up just a little?? (If the fern is in it's own pot, that is).

I like the new urns and the ferns, very classic and simple.

The idea for a grouping of more colorful plants is good, but I'm not sure you'd get enough sun under that overhang to support petunias. They languished on the north side of my house last year.

I've never tried Stringers (where Poplar Pike mets Poplar, right?), but I finally visited Dabney's and Morgreens this year. I know right where those concrete places are. Highway 72 leads home.

Nin

Beautiful urns, Mimi. I love that dark, rich brown with your brickwork, door, and home. To me, I think a little more height would be nice, rather than mass. The ferns should plump out more overtime. I'm thinking one of those low pedestals, rather than the tall ones which are so formal. And I'd bring them in towards the door just a bit more. It looks a little like you're trying to spread them out in order to cover space, which I don't think is really necessary anyway (that is, to spread or fill things out all across that area).

I think the simplicity of what you're doing is beautiful, so wouldn't add more planters, etc. Very elegant like your home.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you guys too, and yes, polkadots it was kinda fun to have all of you sort of "with me" today as I agonized over this one :-) I'm still pondering some of the suggestions of plants, Les's idea to build up the corner, etc. but I do like these pots a lot better. And I actually had a tupperware bowl under the fern pot for the pic. I need to figure out how I'm going to actually do these but I think raising them is definitely a good idea.

Hi spitfire, you're practically a neighbor too! Yes where Poplar Pike and Poplar meet is the Stringers I visited. Went to Morgreen first and actually forgot about Dabney. Southernheart and Johnatemp are in this area too. Johnatemp and I met at the Collierville square for shopping and lunch one day. We should do that again and make it a foursome!

Squirrel, I'll try bringing them in and see how that looks. Thank you again for the virtuals. They are what led me to the brown tones rather than black. It's amazing what you and several others do for all of us with your talent. Thanks!

The larger pots are beautiful.

The larger pots are beautiful with the right color and I like the ferns. I love your home with great curb appeal.

Just perfect! :-)

Filler, thriller and spiller. That's the "rule" I learned for potted plants of any larger size. Would love to see a "thriller"--something taller in the center to fill the vertical space about them. Like the bigger pots much better!!

Mimi - the larger Urns are perfect! Your DH is so thoughtful & sweet! The purple fountain grass gk5040 suggested is easier to maintain than the fern - believe it or not! I think your Boston Ferns are screaming to be hung, one on each side of your columns in the middle of each section. Very Southern. They swirl in the gentle breeze............I have Boston Ferns, I love them, so I didn't mean to hurt your feelings if I did, on your choice. I really like to garden & plant containers & combine many different plants. Again your forever home is beautiful!

Very elegant -- LOVE the larger urns!

And yes -- do put something under them in case the rust gets onto your pretty floor.

And yes! -- I have used the upside-down plastic container in a pot to raise up the plant -- a great trick!

Very pretty! Bigger IS better! Scootch them in towards the door a little more to connect them to your entryway. Another idea is for a topiary type plant in there to bring some height.
{{!gwi}}
Mary Carol Garrity Front Door

Such beautiful pics you always show, kmcg : )

Mimi, fyi, ZipDee has a thread going on her front door and urns. Check out the height on the ferns in her urns, lol : ) Pics/thread is linked below.

Info from her post: The ferns are Fishbone ferns ( Nephrolepis cordifolia ) .. they work great in places where you want to add height. I'm not sure where MiMi lives, but you can find these at about any garden center in NC right now.

Here is a link that might be useful: ZipDee's Urns and Ferns

Hi Mimi........I think I would take them back & swap for larger. Your home is so beautiful! Mine are cast iron after going thru the resin kind & them leaking everywhere. The price wasn't too bad. I don't have a pic of them anywhere on webshots except at Christmas. Here is the link if you wanna peek.....good luck with your porch & planters.....again your home is so charming! Bonnie

Here is a link that might be useful: urns

The new planter size is just right, mimi!

FYI, for anyone else trying to achieve a similar look on a budget, Lowe's has a composite material urn that is dark and looks very similar to cast iron (except for the weight, of course). It is about the same size as mimi's new urns and the cost is about $50 each. They're not the real thing, but a fairly good approximation.

Hey Squirrel, thanks for the heads up about zipdee's thread, her porch is gorgeous. And I live in southwest Tennessee by the way.My goal is to keep those ferns alive and not let them know I have a black thumb!

bonniee, Thaks for the link to the Christmas picture. I'm planning to decorate my urns somehow for the holidays too. They are much too heavy to move around too much! Your porch is beautiful, the wreaths in windows are one of my favorite looks. I did get the bigger size urns by the way, did you see the picture farther down?

kswl - Thank you, I'm glad most everyone thinks the new planters are good. I wish I had researched size/material/pricing a little better before I got in so deep. I'm pleased with my iron ones. I've placed a tile under each to hopefully prevent staining. BUT if I had known what it was going to end up costing for this size I would've kept looking for composite. I just got in deep and kept going but it's done now and I just got off an 80 hr work week (I usually work 25) so the overtime will certainly buy my urns :-)

Hi Mimi.......I do see your larger urns now. They are great! Love the way you decorated your front door also! Thank you sweetly for the compliments on my porch also.
bonnie

Mimi, your home is beautiful! Love your long porch, double doors, so inviting. Your new urns are the icing on the cake, very pretty!