My ranch house was one like all the other houses on the block. Same lawn. Same three shrubs, as before, at the door. Same nothing-says-welcome-home feeling. When I took the…
For two whole summers, I left my deck empty. It was nothing but bare boards and a grill. Once I put out a few deck planters, I finally began spending…
For years, my front door felt like a no-man's-land. I painted it, changed out the hardware, and still didn't feel a thing. Then I added one front door planter, and…
Until I stopped buying small pots, nothing I put on my patio looked full. Big outdoor planters completely transformed the space in a single weekend. Since then, I have covered…
At first, all I had back there was a patch of dirt and a single, dying rosebush. It took three summers of figuring things out, but now the neighbors actually…
The woman who delivers my mail once told me mine was the only house on the street she actually looked forward to stopping at. The paint color had nothing to…
Last spring, my neighbor stopped mid-stride to ask where I had bought my planters. I laughed and gave her the honest answer. A good half of them were once headed…
Last spring, an old rubber boot of mine nearly ended up in the trash. Instead, I packed it with soil and planted pansies. People complimented that one boot more than…
My front porch once looked like a place nobody lived in just bare steps. The front door disappeared right into the siding. Nothing said welcome. Then I set a couple…
I used to have one pathetic folding chair out on my deck, and the whole thing felt the size of a shoebox. It wasn't the kind of spot that made…