If you have a front porch that’s a pleasant place to sit, but you’d like just a bit more screening from the street, think plants for porches. By placing selected plants in pots you can create a pleasing display along with just enough of a barrier to provide a separation between street and house without creating a claustrophobic environment. Porch screening should provide privacy but allow the breezes and light in.
To create a porch garden that’s also a partition, start with several large containers. If those containers have something in common such as color or the materials that they’re made of this will unify the collection. Plant the pots with a variety of plants. Large, fast growing annuals such as cannas add drama, screen the porch quickly, and are easy to grow. Be sure to use some flowering annuals that will add color all summer.
Don’t forget your houseplants! Sending your houseplants to front porch summer camp will allow them to have fresh air and real sunshine…and they may already be large enough to instantly screen your sitting area. Just be sure to introduce houseplants to direct sunlight gradually. A houseplant that’s put in direct sunshine will get burned.
Leave your front porch garden in place until the nighttime temperatures are going below 50 degrees every night. At this point bring the houseplants indoors and make plans to over-winter the annuals and tropicals as desired.
When I sit on the chairs with my cup of tea or coffee I feel like I'm in a sheltered garden oasis. Remember that a covered porch is also the perfect place to sit and enjoy a rainy day.
