Since we moved into our house several years ago, my husband and I have undertaken some large-scale landscaping projects with nice success; one area that has continued to be problematic, however, is the flower bed immediately in front of the house.
While we’ve finally gotten the hang of drought tolerant plants and xeriscaping, the front flower bed is practically in total shade all day long. We’ve tried several combinations of plants that are supposed to be shade lovers, and while they never actually died, they never thrived either. So, this weekend we decided to give this project one more go. Because we were going to be spiffing up the bed, I thought it would be a good opportunity to spiff up the front stoop as well.
After a long discussion with a very knowledgeable salesperson at my favorite nursery in Austin, The Great Outdoors, we landed on the variegated flax lily. We could have gone with simple shrubbery, but as Inward Facing Girl would say, that might have looked potentially prairie.
We measured the whole length of the bed and spaced the plants evenly.
While my awesome husband was digging the holes for the plants, I started to work on the front door. The paint color I chose was a bright gold. I bought one quart of satin-finish exterior paint for the job. I removed all the hardware from the door: the knob, deadbolt, and door knocker, and then I painted the door three times, letting it dry completely between each coat.
After the paint was dry, I reattached the horse-head door knocker. When I was at Home Depot purchasing the paint, I decided to buy a new, more contemporary door knob. It was quite easy to install and really freshened up the look of the door.
I also recycled some planters and filled them with newly bought succulents.
And, I picked up a new front door mat. I chose this one because I thought the graphic black pattern would complement the planters and the yellow door.
Here’s the finished project.
I’m super happy with how it turned out. The stoop area is now more modern looking and inviting. And once the ornamental grasses we planted start to grow and bush out, the flower bed should be in great shape as well. Come on in!