Last week, in prep for guest arrival, we did a little backyard sprucing up for spring! We’ll consider this round one, since it’s still a tiny bit early in the planting season (particularly for tropicals) and we’re still battling the pollen a little. But I wanted to share some of the quick and easy updates we’ve made so far!
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If you want to get details on our pool or see how our backyard looks in the middle of summer when our plants are thriving, you can check out this post. Today’s updates are much more simple, as the weather is starting to warm up and we are looking forward to patio season!
After a recent dumping of pollen from our pine trees, Kurtis first pressure washed our screened-in porch as well as all of our pavers and outdoor furniture. We had a big wind storm just prior to that and thankfully I think it released most of the pollen that had accumulated in the trees so it has all stayed really clean since then! I also washed down all the solid furniture and then vacuumed all the upholstered furniture. Sometimes the bulk of the project is the prep!
I then headed to a local nursery, Clay 30A, to pick a few plants up to fill some of my planters. I didn’t want to go overboard yet since it’s still pretty early in the planting season. But St. Patrick’s Day is pretty much the “all clear” here, where we know we won’t have temps below freezing again. But I was craving some green and color after the winter months! Fun fact: we’re far enough north in Florida that our grass goes dormant, a lot of plants lose their leaves, and overall it does get pretty brown around here (especially in our neighborhood where they only allow indigenous plant species). The pine trees thankfully add a little green in the winter months.
In the one planter, I just used a drop-in hanging basket filled with petunias and verbena. The other planter has a rosemary bush (I love having it fresh to clip!), and the back has creeping jenny and Mexican heather (cuphea) at the base of my kumquat topiary. Still hoping the latter recovers from the hard freezes (and snow!!) we had this past winter. I digging this green and purple combo!
SOURCES: Fluted Resin Planters (both sizes) | Stone Planter: Clay 30A
Since we’ll be traveling for a bit in mid-April, I think I’ll wait to fill the rest of our planters until our return.
I then used mostly items I could find at our local Target since I didn’t want to wait on shipping times or spend a lot on this quick clean up. You can also see here my little kumquat topiary is trying to make a comeback! I’m holding out hope.
I found these green striped bolster pillows for our chaise lounges and this fringed umbrella that coordinates! The pillows are really affordable for the details with the green piping and side buttons.
SOURCES: Chaise Lounge Chairs | Striped Bolster Pillows | Fringe Striped Umbrella | Umbrella Base | Side Table | Fluted Planter (filled with bougainvillea) | Cordless Rechargeable & Solar Table Lamp
Moving up onto the screened-in porch, Kurtis had to pressure-wash this space pretty intently. That pollen is no joke! I layered two cute new rugs by the back slider door.
SOURCES: Lover’s Knot Doormat | Palm Rug | Sandals
I prefer to have freshly cut saw palms out on our back deck, but the reality is I don’t go foraging as often as I’d like 😉 So, I got this faux fig tree for now. Since the cats love to spend time out here, there’s very few fresh items I can use without them constantly trying to eat them, so this gave me the pop of green I was craving!
Here’s a closer look at these super affordable and cute embroidered tie pillows above. It’s kind of hard to tell but the pillow lining underneath the bows is a cute thin striped material!
SOURCES: Outdoor Swivel Chairs | Embroidered Outdoor Lumbar Pillows | Faux Fig Tree | Coffee Table
Two more items I found that may just be my favorite (I already ordered an additional small version). These seashell planters are so dang cute! I already have so many ideas for them. They could easily be used indoors too (the smaller one would be great as a trinket dish or coffee table topper)! I’m thinking of filling them with succulents or moss or even herbs (in the larger one). To be determined!
That wraps up round one of our seasonal clean-up and sprucing. It has been fun to spend time out here with both rounds of guests now that it’s all cleaned up and feels a bit more like a warm-weather vacation spot! Once we’re back from Europe next month for my mom’s birthday I’m excited to get super crazy out here with the planters and decor. Bring on planting season!
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Hi there, This is the second post of yours this week in which I’m unable to open the links. Has anything changed with your software? I’d love to learn more about the fluted planters!
Hi Debra! Not sure if you saw my comment on the other post, but did you install a pop-up blocker or something similar recently? I have my links open in a new window so you don’t lose your spot reading. So maybe that’s what is happening? I haven’t heard of anyone else having a similar issue. The planters are from Target and are called the Weathered Ribbed Composite Indoor Outdoor Planter if that helps!