I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of my summer planters at the end of the season this year, so I didn’t! Here’s how I reused my summer planters for this year’s fall front porch.
We’ve had such a busy fall this year that I was going to give myself a “pass” when it came to putting together and photographing a fancy fall front porch. I thought I’d just put a few things out, just for our own enjoyment, and leave it at that. Part of my reasoning was that I wasn’t really fully willing to commit to getting rid of my summer planters just yet, so I wanted to keep them, even if it was going to look weird. 🙂 I was just going to fill my porch with things that we enjoy, even if they didn’t look picture perfect. Well, I ended up loving how things came together, even with my minimal effort, and I thought it might be fun to share this idea, just in case anyone else finds themselves feeling like they just can’t bare to throw out their summer planters when they’re still in decent shape. So here’s this year’s fall front porch!
Simple Fall Front Porch
We ended up going out to our local pumpkin farm one Friday night just for something fun to do and we picked out a few great ones for our porch and our mantel as well. And of course, I knew I would use a few bundles of corn stalks because I just love the way they create such an instant fall-y atmosphere for when you’re sitting on the porch or looking out through the front door window.
I do love mums, especially white ones, but I decided not to pick any up this year, partially because I didn’t trust myself to do a consistent job of watering them with our busy schedule, and partially because there was already so much going on with all the the greenery still in place.
Reusing Summer Planters for Fall
I was so surprised to find just how much I loved all the different leaf shapes and textures from my summer planters paired with the pumpkins and the corn. Even the very typically summery fern looks great next to the dried corn.
The one thing I did to change my summer planters out for fall is remove anything that was a very bright, vibrant green, like the sweet potato vine, as well as any coloured flowers. What remained was just the plants with the deeper, more subdued greens, as well as some frosty blue/greens like the lavender. Together they created the perfect backdrop for all the fall fun and it turns out that the lavender is actually the perfect pairing for those blue/green pumpkins that I love.
Pictured above: All-weather Adirondack chairs | Similar white square planters (have these on the side porch) | Front door handle | All-weather coffee table
The creeping Jenny is even a bit of a darker green than usual because it was growing completely in the shade of the porch all summer long. And you can’t beat a plant with a name like creeping Jenny when you get close to Halloween season. 🙂
So that’s this year’s fall front porch! I couldn’t love it more and I’ll definitely be incorporating my summer planters in my fall decor again in the years to come.
Do you toss out your summer planters as soon as it turns to fall, or do you try to hang onto them as long as possible too?
MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS
- Green and White Fall Front Porch (2021)
- Three Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
- Inexpensive Oversized Fall Porch Planter
- Classic Farmhouse Fall Front Porch (2020)
- Dairy-Free Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.