I’ve always loved the 4^th of July, in part because my birthday is July 3. It wasn’t until I was 6 or 7 that I discovered the fireworks weren’t just for me! (BTW: The downside of an Independence Day-themed birthday is that you can’t blow out sparklers on your birthday cake no matter how hard you try…).

And I’ve always been partial to red, white, and blue décor.

Especially on porches.

Especially in summer.

Create a classic porch vignette: An American flag, a pair of white rocking chairs, and a pot of red verbena, blue lobelia, or cascading white petunias. All of a sudden it feels like summer has truly arrived.

Add in a gently twirling ceiling fan to keep mosquitos away and your porch will become your haven for morning coffee, an afternoon glass of wine, and the best seats in the house for watching fireflies after dark.

You can also fill red, white, and/or blue containers with green plants (think Boston ferns, above, macho ferns, Majesty palms, or snake plants). Houseplants love a summer vacation on a shaded front porch.

You can create pots of color all summer—and they’ll last from the 4^th of July through to family celebrations over the Labor Day weekend. Here are annuals that will bloom like crazy all summer: A John Philip Sousa march in flower form. 

Red Annuals
Verbena (in photo), Red salvia, Geranium, Gerbera daisy

White Annuals
Petunia (in photo), Calibrachoa, Geranium, Sweet Alyssum

Blue Annuals
Lobelia (in photo), Blue salvia, Bacopa, Ageratum

Written by Karen Weir-Jimerson