The {Outdoor} To-Do List

I finally have a little lower key weekend ahead and it looks like the weather will cooperate this time!  Woo hoo!  I’ve been ready to get outside and get working on my outdoor spaces for weeks now, but the triumvirate of pollen, rain, and kid-tivities have been standing in the way.  And Lord knows, the weekdays are way too crazy busy to do anything more than a bit of list-making.

Yesterday, I took 15 minutes and surveyed the front porch and areas on either side of my steps.  Yikes.

Yes, that is a gangly sad revitalized mum in the urn.  And the lirope that’s out of control.  They’ve both gotta go.

I’m envisioning this for the urn…

 

 

Sweet potato vines do really well here and I love the vibrant green, especially with the back drop of my boxwoods.

In place of the mac-daddy lirope plants (or monkey grass, whatever you call it), I’m going to add a couple of these…

I found these roses at Home Depot and decided to give them a try.  They’re smaller than the popular Knock Out roses I see everywhere, meaning they grow lower, spilling a bit, and blooms are smaller and brighter.  I’ve been wanting something like this out front for some time now.

I’m also envisioning some geraniums in aged terra cotta pots on the steps and porch itself.

 

Source: designmom.com via Heidi on Pinterest

 

 

A few Drift roses will also go on the other side of the steps in this space…

But you can see there’s a lot of work to do here first, like ripping out that crazy ivy, pruning the boxwoods back a bit, and pulling out the zoysia that’s creeping in, too.   Great work for teenagers. 🙂

I did manage to get my front door decorated for summer, though!

I pulled out my favorite Star Spangled Door Bucket, loaded it with some of my white and creamy faux stems, a dash of red,  and a flag and popped it up.   At least I can check ONE thing off my list!

And in the process, I added something else… I’d love to add house numbers to the space on the door just below the window.

 

And there’s this…

Does this hardware need some TLC or what??

So here’s where you come in… polish it up or paint it?  Can’t wait to hear your feed back! What’s on your outdoor To-Do List this weekend?

 

Comments

  1. You’ve got a busy weekend ahead! I think you’re plans will turn out great! I love your front door bucket as well…I’d love to have one except we have a storm door and I think the bucket is too thick to fit between the two. And the hardware…I’d like to see what some polish could do to that bad boy!

  2. You are one ambitious woman!…But it is great being outside these days…
    Love your front door pocket florals….It really screams summer…love it!

    Have a wonderful weekend!!…don’t work too hard!!…It is going to be beautiful!

  3. I’d polish the hardware! It will look awesome, I promise. We polished ours! I have to say, I’m glad my husband is in charge of garden & curb appeal…, he’s out there right now taking care of the lawn. Have a great weekend!

  4. Brass is back, they say. You could try cleaning it, then if you don’t like it…switch it out!

  5. Well….. if you go here http://blissranch.blogspot.com/2012/03/dedoor-declutter-dedresser.html you will see your exact same door handle painted silver. I opted to paint it, but that is just because I was too lazy to polish.

    ~Bliss~

  6. Wow – I pop over and see my front porch! Aren’t those sweet potato vines the greatest! You’ve got a lot of work ahead but can revel in the fact that your “wreath” looks amazing!

    I say paint that hardware – oil rubbed bronze. And love the idea of adding house numbers on the door.
    Kelly

  7. Not sure the hardware is made of so I don’t know.
    Try polishing first, then paint if doesn’t work?

    Loving the patriotic front door decor! It looks great =)
    It’s so nice to have the weather turn so we can all get out in our yards!!

    Enjoy!!

  8. It’s probably not too expensive to just buy and install some new hardware … just another option to throw in the mix. And I’ve been all about the porches this past week and weekend too …. so many projects so little time …

    🙂

    Linda

  9. Looking so good so far! I’d vote against painting the hardware. On hardware that you use a lot, the paint probably won’t stand up to it. Just my experience so far. I bet you can find some cheap stuff on ebay or something!

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