S/O: What do you have on your front step?

[ourbabygirl]

Our pansies have died and I'm kind of cheap to replant a couple of elaborate planters on our steps for the rest of the summer.... what do you have on your own front steps or porch that's homey, fun, &/or festive to welcome guests for the summer :)? Any special flowers or plants that last really well facing east in the a.m.? Or a non-traditional display that would last beyond the summer (something non-living that we could bring out again each year)? FWIW, we have a grapevine wreath on the door w/faux red geraniums and yellow-green flowers. House is cream-colored aluminum siding.
Looking ahead to the fall, winter, and spring, what do you put out on your front step for the new seasons and holidays? I'd like to do something classy but not country-ish looking ;).

Thanks for your help!

[SnuggleBuggles]

This year has been very successful for my planters. They have looks nice and have been extremely low maintenance. I have a coleus in the center of the arrangement (it wound up getting pretty big!), vinca vines, some vining white flower that starts with a B (sorry, I am not a gardener but that might narrow things down) and impatiens. The other one has coleus, sweet potato vine and impatiens.

Lots of mums and pumpkins in the fall.

Nothing exciting the rest of the time.

Beth

[Melaine]

some vining white flower that starts with a B (sorry, I am not a gardener but that might narrow things down)

Maybe Bougainvillea?

[lizajane]

i really like to have a lot of flowers on my front steps. i replaced my pansies with a geranium by the front door, then in several pots, a mix of vinca, dalias and marigolds. i had to remove the thyme and rosemary because they got too big for their pots, even though the pots were huge! in the fall, i do mums.

[fortato]

There's a Goofy statue. The kids keep pulling him out of my garden-where he stays hidden unless MIL is here, because she bought the thing.

So- Goofy is sitting on my front steps.

[AJP]

I never planted flowers in our big pots since I knew I'd just be too busy to water them this year. We have a doormat and 2 big hurricane lanterns in red metal. I am waiting for our big BBQ to put my big pillars in there and light them. I did however just re-stain the mahogany stairs/deck and it looks fab!!!

[kijip]

A doormat, a bag o stuff for a free-cycler to pick up and a broom left out there by accident. Our pretty stuff is all in the back yard. :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Maybe Bougainvillea?

Just remembered the name- Bacopa. I love it.

Beth

[MamaMolly]

A door mat and an almost perfectly triangular rock. I think it is a broken paver tossed out by the guys building down the street, but DD loves :heartbeat: it.

In the fall we do 3 pumpkins, a Daddy, Mama and DD one. But they look nice for about a day before the squirrels eat on them. Kinda freaky when you are walking up to the house and a pumpkin vomits up a squirrel :dizzy:

[hellokitty]

I don't do pansies, b/c as soon as it gets remotely hot, they die. I just wait until May and get petunias. Two for my front stoop, and this yr, I also put a big pot in the front where a tree we cut down used to be and another pot of petunias at the front corner of our lot. I do NOT have a green thumb, but I can keep petunias alive long enough until it's about time to display pumpkins for Halloween. You just need to make sure you deadhead them as needed and water them regularly and they do fine. A little fertilizer helps too. I got some purple and white variagated ones this yr that I absolutely LOVE. The other two pots are a combo of violet, pink and a pale lavendar color.

[KrisM]

Industrial looking mats because our porch is wicked slippery when wet. No flowers. No plants.