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Summer Entry and Easy Ways to Add Curb Appeal

May is my favorite month. It’s finally warm enough to start thinking about our Summer entry and easy ways to add curb appeal.

Summer Entry and Boston Ferns - Finding Silver Pennies

Poppy wanted to help me welcome you to our home!

We’re delighted to be taking part in Satori Design for Living’s OUTDOOR EXTRAVAGANZA. This will be going on for the next couple of weeks but today’s post is all about plants and flowers.

I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but here in New England, the winter stretched on and on and on. Only now, in May, does it feel like summer. I must admit I signed up to take part in this tour months ago and I was getting pretty nervous with all the Nor’Easters and rain that I wouldn’t be able to take part.

Earlier this week I shared this photo on Instagram:

Boston Ferns are beautiful from summer through fall and look so classic in urns here in New England Summer Entry and Boston Ferns - Finding Silver Pennies

We’d just got back from the Home Depot and I was so surprised by all the comments and likes. Boston Ferns are classic and they’re currently in stock! I got so many questions that I thought I’d share some easy tips for sprucing up your exterior.

Easy Ways to Add Curb Appeal

This post contains a few affiliate links for your convenience, if you purchase via one of these links I may receive a portion of the sale. Thank you for supporting my blog in this way.

Boston Ferns

I discovered Boston Ferns a few years ago. The front of our home is mostly shaded, well it gets some morning and evening sun, but the sun goes around the side and back of our home. I had the hardest time with flowers in my urns. Things would die and I’d get mad.

Planting Boston Ferns - Finding Silver Pennies

If you’ve had the same problem then you might want to try Boston Ferns. I’ve heard that they aren’t good in Florida because the leaves burn in the heat, but here in New England they thrive and last into the fall months.

All I do is get the hanging ferns and plop them in my urns (still in the containers). I give them some plant food and water in the morning.

Gorgeous Boston Ferns in antique urns - Finding Silver Pennies

Classic, Elegant and Easy.

Home Depot has the hanging ferns in stock for $14.99. We grabbed some for our entry and some for our back deck.

Just to give you an idea, this is how they were looking last fall:

Fall Entry in New England - Finding Silver Pennies

Accentuate Your Entry With a Brick Walkway

Classic Coastal Exterior in New England, brick walkway adds loads of curb appeal - Finding Silver Pennies

This is a little more time consuming and costly, but adding a brick walkway to your entry makes your front door a focal point. The previous owners added the brick path and I love it so much! Other options are pea gravel, crushed shells or mini marble chips.

Paint Doors and Shutters A Cheerful Color

I love blue and knew that I wanted to paint our door and shutters this color when we moved in. The front door used to be a buttery yellow and the shutters were black. I get asked A LOT what color our front door is. It’s Buxton Blue in high gloss by Benjamin Moore. This color looks perfect in EVERY season.

Happy Blue Door and Faux Succulent Wreath - Finding Silver Pennies

The wreath is faux succulents by Balsam Hill and the wreath hanger is by Smith & Hawkins. We have a storm door for those New England winters so I like to hang wreaths on the exterior door.

Oversized Window Boxes

We have very large window boxes which were added by the previous owner. They are an all weather material which means we don’t ever have to paint them which makes me happy. At first I was very intimidated and didn’t know what to plant in them.

Now, I look forward to doing the window boxes and changing them with the season.

Oversized Window Boxes and Fun Ideas for them - Finding Silver Pennies

My favorite thing is potato vines. Last year I experimented with mixing different colored vines and loved how that looked. When you first plant them they look like the above photo (you can also see some vinca vine which I’m using this year as well).

Potato Vines add a romantic feel to any window box - Finding Silver Pennies

As the summer progresses and then fall, the vines look gorgeous and trail down onto the ground. It’s such a romantic, cottage-y look that is so welcoming. You can see how they vines trail here:

Trailing Vines and Pretty Fall Entry - Finding Silver Pennies

Isn’t that beautiful?

For planting, I usually do something for height, usually ornamental grasses, then fill with flowers and potato vines. I find shade loving plants or sun loving flowers that are small work in our window boxes.

New England Cottage Living - Finding Silver Pennies

I make sure to water our window boxes every day.

Plant and Fertilize Grass

I realize our grass is just coming back right now. It was a long winter. Last year we put down loam, reseeded and fertlized the lawn with organic fertilizer. This is how it was looking last summer:

Storybook New England Home on the Coast and Easy Ways to Add Curb Appeal - Finding Silver Pennies

See how lush?

Well, it was a looooooonnnnnggggg winter. We added more seed and also more organic fertilizer and I’m relieved to report it’s coming back. Phew.

Pretty New England Cottage with Lots of Flowers - Finding Silver Pennies

Plant Hardy Perennials

When we first moved to our home there were no shrubs int he front. We’ve added them over the years. We’ve done boxwood, Delaware White Azaleas (one of my dad’s favorites).

Planting Ideas - Finding Silver Pennies

Last year we added a holly which is so pretty in the winter.

We mulch every other year. Last year, Luke put down a really thick layer of mulch and this year I’ve turned the mulch over. You want to be careful not to put too much mulch up to the wood shingles because it can cause the wood to rot or water to flood up over the sill into the basement.

Mulch insulates the plants and also cuts down on weeding. That’s always my job so love when there aren’t tons of weeds. We like organic dark mulch because it makes the green of our bushes pop.

Shrubs and Bushes that are perfect for seaside living - Finding Silver Pennies

Add Some Pops of Color

Many garden centers and hardware stores have ready planted pots and hanging baskets. I find this a great way to add a little pop of color.

Pretty Flowers for Summer Planting - Finding Silver Pennies

Before the ferns arrived I had these in my urns.

Bright Flowers in Antique Urns - Finding Silver Pennies

Now they’re on a step to add more pretty color to our entry:

Summer Entry and our Black Lab - Finding Silver Pennies

Faux is Fun Too

As I mentioned the wreath is faux, but the bunch of flowers in the striped tote are faux too. 😉

They’re actually tulips in a glass vase and the striped tote I got at the Haven Conference last year.

Ways to Add Curb Appeal - Finding Silver Pennies

I hope this gave you a few easy ways to add curb appeal to your home.

Thanks for stopping by. Poppy and I enjoyed showing you around now that weather is lovely to be outside!

Come on by for some planting tips - Finding Silver Pennies

Be sure to visit all my friends who are taking part. They have some lovely plant and flower ideas!

Satori Design for Living | On Sutton Place | City Farmhouse | Maison de Pax

The DIY Mommy | A Pretty Life | Vinyet Etc. | Life On Virginia Street

The Happy Housie | Clean and Scentsible | Casa Watkins Living | Postcards from the Ridge | Finding Silver Pennies

 

 

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Mary Vitullo
5 years ago

I’ve always loved the look of ferns in urns but thought they were much more finicky. Our Montreal summer weather is probably similar to your New England weather so I may just try this. Thanks for the info.

Shauna
5 years ago

Your home looks like it’s straight out of the pages of a magazine. Love it! And your plant selections are so fitting. (I was nervous, too, as snow just melted a few weeks ago. We’re way behind! I’ll be doing more planting over the next week to catch up!)

Jo-Anna Rooney
5 years ago

I was getting super nervous about this hop too…we had snow on the ground just over 3 weeks ago! Thankfully spring arrived with a bang and warm temperatures! I love your home and yard…everything is so gorgeous! Now I’m feeling inspired to put some Boston Ferns on my porch this summer!

Laurie@VinyetEtc
5 years ago

I think we are on very similar weather patterns, it’ just finally starting to get there weather wise. I love all of your tips, the window boxes are divine – potato vine is one of my favourites too! I’m encouraged by how beautiful your ferns are, I bought mine at home depot too. 🙂 So happy to be in the Extravaganza with you!

Deb
Deb
5 years ago

Your house is gorgeous and I loved that you included Poppy as well. She looks like areal sweetie!

Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living

How wonderful! I just adore your home. Looks so welcoming and all the beautiful florals and plants make it simply stunning. Great tips!!

Cindy
Cindy
5 years ago

Your house is gorgeous, lady!!! I love the window boxes, the shingle siding and the lovely turquoise shutters and door. Your Boston ferns are just what I am looking for this year, as our front porch gets only morning sun and not much of that because of all the trees.