I have containers there now, but I don't like them on the porch. They are going to be residing on the patio soon. I was thinking of doing large urns filled with plants, but they would dry out in hours with the sun beating down on them. Any suggestions, besides cacti, that might thrive in such brutal conditions?

I am going to be painting the door a blue at some point, and installing a ramshead pediment (once I find that money plant! ;)

Any suggestions?

Love your house.

Just to address the wind tunnel problem, (if I 'm overstepping please forgive and ignore) what about a med. height hedge. I'm thinking start it against the house b/w the door and teh window and continue it curvy along side your mulched border stopping when you get to the wider part of the garden.

This would also provide some shade.

I'm not quite sure what a ram's head is but I'm thinking it's something above door? If so, I agree.

Beautiful house by the way.

Remember me when you find that money tree :-)

On the lower right hand corner of the house, I would think about putting in a trellis for a nice climber. Any climatis would do well in your climate, but a climbing rose would be formal enough to compiment the traditional style of your home (whatever your tastes are, obviously:). That way you have some interest in that corner without inhibiting the growth of your conifers there.

Since all of your bushes are so new, think about getting a vertical structure to compliment the height of your gorgeous home. An arbor, a fountain or a nice statue would work. Maybe even a tree in a pot that you can bring inside during the winter like a nice hybiscus tree. A less exspensive route would be a hanging basket on a shepherd's hook. I could see that near your bench or your front door.

Hope this helps. Nice house.

"Adam's Needle" or yucca is another selection that is tough as nails and has gorgeous tall stalks of scented white flowers.

You do NOT want to paint those pots black. Black retains heat. But rather than the beige, a bright white might look good and brighten things up. But I think mainly what your porch needs is many different textures of vegetation that can take that environment, to soften the straight lines and provide dimension. Check out the Xeriscaping forum, I bet they'll be able to recommend plants that can take the dry heat and look great.

Kristin

Your house is charming. The wind and sun are problematic, especially with a black-painted door. Got to lighten up that door right away, as you plan to. Blue will be very pretty! I would invest $70 or so and get a 6- or 7-foot tall Japanese maple on sale and plant it just off the southwest corner of the porch. Better yet, ask on your local freecycle if anyone has some redbud saplings they can part with -- we all have redbud volunteers.

Pots, no pots, that will all work out -- you've got to solve the wind/sun problem before anything else. Best of luck and enjoy!

-- Zinniachick

It would be nice to get some color near the porch. I like the idea of something tall in the pots - like ornamental grass, and something low and colorful near the pots. Perhaps small colorful collection of pots on the front edge of the porch filled with trailing colorful annuals or geraniums, which of course you will be watering every day in summer to keep alive.

A windbreak solution I am considering for my back porch is to put a trellis, or woven screen on each side of the porch. They could be supported by a simple arbor frame of a vertical post on the right and left front corners of the porch, a cross piece on top connecting them like an arbor, and some simple framing going from the front, to the wall of the house to support them. A roof isnt needed, but abviously makes the whole thing easier to put up. You wouldnt change the front appearance of the house much, but you would have an enclosed feeling when standing on the porch. White painted wood framing with white wood trellis or black wrought iron trellis would be compatible with your home.

Your house is really nice. The good thing about sun are the brilliant flowers you can show off, once you get the whole thing set up right. Shade just doesnt produce the cheerful colors like sun.