Hi auntjen, what a great looking flower bed, I love it. And the color on the porch, I love that too. Looks fantastic, great job.

Love it!

Jen, that's awesome!! The new rug is just perfect!!!

Absolutely gorgeous! Post more photos when the hydrangeas are blooming! Keep them watered. I've discovered they get very thirsty.

Thank you all so very much for your kind words! Of course, these are all baby plants and I'm sure the bed will look much more lush and filled in after several months. Just a little while ago, DH mentioned that he thought we should consider doing something else on the other side of the sidewalk now, and yeah - the new bed kinda makes the old "marching in a row" boxwoods seem dowdy and boring! Perhaps this fall or next spring we can think about taking them out and expanding that entire area to make a large bed, including the big tree. That would be quite a task, as it would involve removing a concrete edger that's no doubt been there for years and years. But it's something to think about doing!

I plan to keep those hydrangeas nice and, well - hydrated! Several of my neighbors have mature hydrangea bushes blooming in their beds, and they're just stunning. I hope mine turn out half as nice as theirs.

Now - must run outside and turn off those party lights on the patio. My crap timer that's supposed to do that for me has mysteriously ceased to function.
:-/

It looks wonderful! What's the story on the rug?

Aunt Jen, I've really enjoyed looking at your pictures. The porch is wonderful and your new garden is delightful. Isn't it fun to make changes? I love it.

How colorful and fun! Great job.

One question - have you ever considered painting the bricks that form the arches (and the sides of the archways) in the trim color of the house? I think it would really make the arches stand out as an architectural feature.

rim the arches with the trim color? that might look very nice.

I love the flower bed - amazing what a difference that makes. the patio is vey colorful - and fun looking. I'd love a porch like that to sit out on. love all the arches also. hopefully as things grow and bloom they'll pick up more on the colors on the patio. (things don't often grow and bloom for me...)

maybe something soft and more feathery to replace the boxwoods? i've never cared much for boxwoods - they seem so... boxey! lol!

Absolutely love the flower bed...amazing job!

Everything looks great; that was a fast repair !!

Jen, I'll be over tonight for a spell. Please have a nice cold drink for me!

Beautiful and so cheery!

You've done a wonderful makeover. What fun to watch and very inspiring! That porch looks like it's begging for a margarita...

Wow, what a difference that makes! What are the plants in between the flowers?

Laurie

The flower bed is so pretty and I love the curve of it! I need to do something like this.

Well that totally made me smile as soon as I saw your porch! You have one of those places that I'm secretly envious of... so much personal style and done so well!

Your hubby did a great job! I love the new shape of the garden! I love the color punches! I could see myself sipping margaritas on that front porch. What fun!

Very nice! I really love the new flower bed! You have a cute house!

Wonderful job! So colorful and fun!

Time for a party! :)

Jan

G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!!! Wow! I am totally impressed with the transformation. Everything looks absolutely amazing!

It looks amazing Jen, curb appeal with a capitol A!... Pretty, cozy, warm, friendly, and unique. I want
to come over for a Margarettaville, with lots of salt on the glass...The flower garden is just perfect too!
Joann

Looks great! I'd love to know what the different plants are. Loving the colors on the porch too.

tina

OMG! Auntjen!! that looks fabulous! You tackled that project with the speed of lightening!!! I wish our projects would go that fast! Can't wait to see how your art project turns out, I have no doubt, it will be beautiful! I love the way you work magic with color! --Lukki

You have done a beautiful job. Congratulations to you!!! I think gardening is as important as the house (it's that curb appeal). We have so many beautiful plants on this earth that it is a sha here worried about the environment while they do nothing in the garden. AuntJen, you are going to be hooked. You look like an expert!!!!

Patricia, I agree. Now that I have a new garden and quite large too, I'm having a blast planting flowers I've never grown before. So far, so good!

Jen, you need to make the new flowerbed a "cottage" garden. Meaning, plant as many flowers you can (not in rows though), to where you can't even see the dirt! lol

Caladiums would be pretty there if you don't get hot afternoon sun.

Auntjen, Wow you and the family did an awesome job.. I love your new flower bed and the porch is just grand.. what did you do with the bottom of your birdbath that was in your old flowerbed..???? you can use it to make a gazing ball our of an old bowling ball and use bright colors on it... you can use flat sided marbles or broken up pices of china and glue and grout them on the bowling ball.. lots of bright colors and heck if you can find a plate with a parrot see if you break the plate so you get a whole piece of the parrot or at least pieces so you can glue back on the bowling ball..Here is a pic of my blue bowling ball with flat sided marbles

You've all made me feel just wonderful about our little project! Thank you so very much! :-)

The plants we used: aralia, red yucca, dwarf wax myrtles (they smell divine!), nandinas, hydrangeas, holly fern, impatiens, and spider plants. Those little spider plants are really something -- I had considered them nothing more than hanging basket material, but we successfully overwintered some of them in our back garden, so I thought I'd see how they'd do in the front. I love the suggestion to take this in a cottage garden direction. Maybe I should post my pics in the Cottage Garden forum, and ask those folks how they'd go about doing so.

Huggy, that is so very cool! Wow, that's marbles and a bowling ball, huh? It's gorgeous! The entire birdbath actually survived -- the top was just moved out of sight before my pics were snapped. We relocated the birdbath around to the back of the house and used the stones that had been acting as the bed edging in front to build a little rock garden around it. I'd like to plant something that will creep over the rocks and add a bit of color to that space. Funny how one project often spawns others, isn't it? ;-)

I honestly didn't notice whose post this was before I read it, but new in an instant when I saw the use of color. NOW, THIS SAYS "AUNT JEN!" Congratulations on all your hard work! It's gorgeous!

Great job! love the curve and the impatiens and can't wait to see the hydrangea in bloom (I miss my hydrangea). The porch looks so inviting - I esp. like the parrot! Have to get rid of the boxwood hedge in front and put in something droopy (like big hydrangea - or is that spot too sunny?) or low. Maybe you could just thin out the boxwood for now until you find something?

I have boxwood, maybe b/c they're babies and I've never shaped them, they're still fairly low and "fluffy" looking. Not sure if you could get your older ones to look like this (lighter green "balls" in the back, either side of rosebush)?

{{!gwi}}

Gee, I really need some color! The roses haven't bloomed yet, but they're light pink. Looked better when white and yellow daffies were blooming. Too sunny for hydrangeas :-(

Aunt Jen here are my bowling balls in the yard along with my birdbath that I made from yard sale and TS and GW buys..

Fabulous! I love what you've done!

I hope I get to see it in person sometime. :-)

Talk about making lemonade! Can't believe you created the bed so fast! Oh, and the porch is so you, lol!

Watch out for those spider plants. I found out by accident that they'll grow outdoors down here. I ignored the babies for awhile until they started having a life of their own. Earlier this year I finally dug 'em up, but now they're coming back.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I love hydrangeas and nandina...this is going to be a lovely garden when its all filled in. Nice job! You may become addicted to gardening, if not already! I've always liked your house, with its shady, somewhat secluded porch. Looks like one you can sit on during a gentle rain...love that!

What a difference the new plantings and the re-decorated porch make for your cute home. The boxwoods could make a nice background for some flowers if you decide to spruce up that area.
Diane

Oh my gosh Jen, you did an awesome job with both your porch and yard. Bravo!
Huggy Bear, my hubby has a gazillion bowling balls, so much so that he built two-two tier racks to hold the ones he doesn't take to the lanes with him, I wonder if he'd notice one or two missing.... Ya think? 8^P

...highjack alert...

Huggybear - mind sharing the details on how you made that birdbath? I love it.

Auntjen, you really should be braver about using colour.

I love it! I could sit on that porch for hours. And the garden is looking marvellous.

Wow that looks great, AJ! Love the Mad Mat in there. You sure work fast! And a garden bed to boot. Wonderful job.

I hadn't seen a fan in there before. Even better. Maybe you could bring some of the color Up by hanging a bright tassel from the fan pull. Maybe even paint the blades in a pattern or solid colors. I'd probably paint the base as well.

Can't wait to see your canvas art!

My goodness!!! When you start a project, you're really serious about getting it done! Your planting bed is beautifully sculpted and your porch is spectacular. Tell us more about the rug, please.

Jen, if you need any planters for your porch I saw some very bright colored ones, just like the colors you have, at Home Depot. There are several sizes.

For those who are interested in the Birdbath.. it was made from glass vases, glass candelholders and glass bowls, all found either at yard sales or GoodWill or Thrift shops.. cleaned each well with soap and water and you can even wipe something on the edges that you are going to glue to make sure super clean.. get some GEII sealicone sealer for windows (clear) or try the grout you would use for Glass Blocks.. ;chose how you want your totem to look.. mine is bowl on bottom, vase up right next vase turned upside down, candel holder upright and one upside down.. then I glued another fancy or what ever glass bowl.. and added a fairy and some plastic butterflies.. make sure you line them all up straight cause once the glue does set.. no changing them.. takes the glue sometime to set.. maybe a couple of days to just be sure.. watch how you line up the weight also.. make sure you have good base.. once you are ready to glue.. you put a line of glue on the parts you are going to glue..like bottom bowl glue in the center and then also a little on the vase rim, etc. they are fun to make and I made another one only this one is a birdfeeder..and I am adding a fancy light cover to the top plate and not gluing it down as I want to be able to change the lights inside.. here are two pics first one is of a bowl covered with leftover flatsided marbles and the second one is of the fancy light cover.

AJ, I think you were considering painting your ceiling. So, here are some blues, turquoise, and a light yellow. Was trying the painted fan too. Maybe colored blades would give a Spin Art effect, lol.

Maybe a permanent bouquet/bucket of flowers? (linked)

Here is a link that might be useful: Colorful Flower Garden Stakes

Thanks again so very much for all of the kind words and further ideas and inspiration! I've got even more to think about/consider/get done, thanks to you all!
:-)

Squirrel, thanks so much for those mockups. I definitely need to paint that ceiling, don't I? And it's funny you should mention painting the fan, as that was DH's suggestion! I must say, I really like it painted lime green! DH thought bright yellow, to mimic the "sun" against the blue ceiling when we get that done. The multi-colored blades are really cute too, though!

Huggy, your creations are so very cool! I love how the lights look shining through them!

Mona, below is a link to an online store that sells Mad Mats which gives a little more info on what they're all about. I just love mine!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mad Mats

You're welcome. I like the green too. Tried a bright yellow, thinking Sun, too, but it competed with the chairs and didn't look right to me, in the virtual anyway. The light yellow fan base, also a Sun, seems to work well, as does the light yellow ceiling which could brighten the space. Blue looks great too.

Here's the yellow. I also did a lighter one. Maybe the bright yellow would be subdued enough in the shadows to not be so dominant. Or maybe bring more of the bright yellow to red side of the porch to spread it around more overall.

{{!gwi}}

Wow! That garden is beautiful and perfect with your absolutely lovely home! And what a fun place to spend time on your porch.

Thanks Squirrel! I think you're right - a bright yellow competes a bit with the chairs, but a bit more subdued might look nice. I'm still diggin' that lime green, though! I don't know what it is about that color, but it never fails to "grab" me. It's happy and cheery, and I like it!

Thank you so much, Natureperson! I appreciate your kind words!

You're welcome. Love the lime green. That was my fav too.

I haven't had a chance to check in that much since we've been busy with the end of school.

Wow, wow, wow, Jen ... you're porch is just awesome! It makes me smile just to look at it, what a great place to entertain. Break out those margaritas!! :) The landscaping looks wonderful too, I'd love to see a picture of the hydrangeas when they blooom!

Thank you so much, Zipdee! We're really enjoying the porch - although we've got to figure out a good way to keep those darn mosquitos at bay. They've been really bad this past week.

The hydrangeas have a couple of pretty powder-blue blooms on them at the moment. I know they can be turned to pink (somehow), but I hope to keep them blue. I look forward to having them fill in as a mass of color! We planted deep rose-red pentas and goldy-orange daylilies over the weekend. The Mexican feather grass will go in this week. It's been such fun putting all of this together!