Fall Winter Front Porch Flower Boxes

Here in the south, window and porch boxes are a ritual.  I find it amazing how a little bit of green can warm up and add life to any space.

As we were building this house, and the drawings of the front porch came to life, I knew that I'd want to add significant planters to the space.  Before the house was even complete, we built these large planters.  Since we moved in a few months ago, they've sat patiently waiting to be filled.  This weekend was their time.

For me, it was so tempting to fill these guys up with fall annuals.  In the end though, I decided to go with almost all perennials, and just a few flowers that will need replacing in the spring.  The shade loving perennials will work perfectly on our front porch, that only gets an hour or so of sun a day, and they will work perfectly with our recently busy days, weeks, and months that don't allow for continuous plant replacement.  This route is better for the budget, too.

The empty boxes -

My process includes spacing the plants out before planting.

The after -

The plants I used from the outside of the container in are - Goldilocks Creeping Jenny, Myers Asparagus Fern, Cyclamen, Heuchera (Coral Bells) and Evergold Carex.  These are all from my favorite local garden center Abide-a-While.

U-pick Strawberries from Wabi Sabi Farm

The first time I ever picked strawberries, I was somewhere outside of Portland, Maine.  There's something about eating food that you harvest yourself, isn't there?

We are so lucky to have several good U-pick strawberry farms around here.  I especially love Wabi Sabi in Cordesville.  It is off the beaten path, for starters, and it's nice to have a little space when you're picking strawberries.  Also, the sweetest family runs this farm.  They care about what they do and it shows each time we visit.  I like supporting them for that reason.  Finally, the strawberries at Wabi Sabi taste AMAZING!  They are juicy, sweet and slightly tangy.  They are delicious on their own, tossed in a salad, or made into a scrumptious dessert.

We went out to Wabi Sabi this morning and brought home the two boxes above.  I was browsing though my pictures the other day though, and happened upon few that I took out at this farm last year.  

You could just stop into the grocery store and pick up a container full, but you haven't really tasted strawberries until you've picked your own.

By the way, I picked up one of the strawberry hullers at Coastal Cupboard here in town.  My son thoroughly enjoyed hulling a bunch of the strawberries that I planned to freeze.  If it were just me, I'd just cut the entire top off to remove the stem, but it is so much fun to see kids amused by something so simple.  Perspective. :)

Confederate Jasmine

If you're thinking of visiting Charleston, the absolute best time of year to arrive is early May.  The weather is wonderfully mild and there's the Jasmine.  Yes, this one particular flowering vine is completely worth the trip!

Right around Mother's Day, you'll find the gorgeous fluffy Jasmine beginning to bloom, and along with the white whimsical little blossoms, you'll be greeted with the most refreshing perfume. A good nose can smell the flowers a mile away, but it grows all over the Lowcountry, especially on the peninsula.

Walk out to the Battery, close your eyes, and breath in the mix of sweet Confederate Jasmine and salty harbor water.  It's just like heaven.

I hope y'all are having a wonderful week!

Don't plant too soon!

Seems that one of my biggest struggles every fall is trying to be patient and wait for the right time to plant fall annuals.  Local home improvement and grocery stores are proudly displaying shades of beautiful mums and they scream at me to take them home!

I. Will. Wait.  Wait until it's cool enough for the beautiful fall flowers to have a fighting chance.

In the meantime, I can plan.  I love mums and pansies.  Maybe I'll try to work in something different this year.  And, we can't forget about the vegetable garden.  Collards and other greens, maybe some onions too.

Here are a few pictures of what we've done in the past.

I'd love to hear what you're thinking of planting this fall.

Lowcountry Spring and Summer Flowers

Our yard is terrible this year.  Really terrible.  Thank you fertilizer brand that rhymes with "spots".  Anyway, while we work to recoup the grass and flower beds, I thought I'd reflect on some of my favorite flower bed moments from our past.

We have several perennials and I also like to choose different annuals every spring/summer.

We've got Jasmine growing along on the fence and up our trellis and pergola.  The quintessential Southern flower for a reason, Jasmine blooms around Mother's day and the gorgeous light scent seems to fill the air in Charleston.

We have a dwarf Magnolia tree.

And Black-eyed Susan's that come back year after year.

I love white flowers.  Alyssum are so fluffy and fresh.  They don't tend to last into the heat of the summer, but I can't resist planting a few plants every spring.

I really love multicolored flowers and gravitate toward Zinnias   They grow and multiply and surprise you with burst of color.

Hopefully we can pull our yard back together before fall arrives.

In the meantime, what are your favorite summer flowers?