This Spring I have been diligently working to improve our front porch. Slowly, I’ve added some new things that make it a place where I would want to sit and have a cup of coffee or tea, a place where I would like to stay a while.

Porches hold a special place in my heart. My grandparents had a front and back porch, both enclosed with lots of windows and filled with beautiful light. We would visit and have tea and eat homemade cookies on these porches. They were so well loved, and I have so many great family memories of them.

I wanted to try to recreate some of what I loved about those spaces on my own porch. Adding an outdoor rug, new pillows, and new plants has made a huge difference. It’s already starting to feel warm and welcoming.

My latest addition is these planters. I wanted to create a ‘living wall.’ Living walls are usually secured to (non-living) walls, but this one will hang and create some privacy at the open end of our porch. It will continue to grow and fill in as the summer progresses. I am hoping for healthy, lush, trailing plants that will fill the space.

I started by attaching a cedar board to the ceiling of our front porch (with the help of my husband, this is definitely a two person job). This provides a place to anchor in the screw hooks that will hold the new hanging baskets.

I then filled the baskets with a good quality soil, and planted a variety of trailing plants that I bought at my local garden centre, mostly different kinds of ivy. The hanging baskets and inserts were purchased at my local Dollar Tree. I plan on adding some baby spider plants that I currently have rooting in the house for a little more filler over the next coming days.

Overall, I am super happy with how this project is turning out. I am excited to see how my ‘living wall’ fills in and to watch it progress throughout the Summer. I will keep you posted on how it’s doing. Happy gardening!