The Easiest Front Porch Planters Ever
The easiest front porch planters ever! A super simple idea to dress up your front door area. Transform your porch from drab to amazing!
Today I’m sharing how to make show-stopping, impressive planters in just a few minutes. These are truly the easiest front porch planters ever, they highlight the front of your house, and they make a great first impression!
(Originally published in 2017, this post has been continually updated with new information and more tips. Most recent update 3/30/2022.)
Easiest DIY Front Porch Planters
Even though I loved the olive buckets I featured on our front porch in previous years, I am ready for a change! I moved the olive buckets to the back patio, and they will join my herb garden. I debated about what to replace them with, and looked for quite a while on various gardening websites. I briefly considered wicker baskets, but I finally decided on the black planter boxes that are featured in all the images.
What Can I Put In My Front Porch Planter?
I had visions of filling these planters with colorful blooms, like pansies, daisies, or impatiens, and that may still happen…but for now, I decided to keep it extremely simple. Instead I filled the planters with these healthy and beautiful ferns. I promised the easiest front porch planters ever, so that’s what I’m delivering!
Where to Get Outdoor Planters + Garden Containers:
Lowe’s had rows and rows of healthy ferns for a great price, and a great selection of pots and planters in all sizes. Plant pots are also readily available at places like Walmart, Home Depot, Michaels, other craft stores, and big box stores. Another fast and efficient way to find planters is to shop online.
An Easy Front Porch Planter Idea:
One trick for repurposing flower pots you already have is to give them a makeover by spray painting them the same color. No matter what you started out with, painting mismatched pots a uniform color will give you the look of a carefully curated collection of planters!
Outdoor Decor In Just A Few Minutes!
To assemble the planters:
Since I was starting from scratch, I decided to simplify the process, and set the fern containers inside the planter boxes. This method enabled me to leave the ferns in their original containers, and it eliminated the need for potting soil.
I was hoping the ferns would set in the planter boxes at the correct height, but unfortunately they did not. They dropped down into the planters way too low. To raise them up, I simply put packing pillows and plastic grocery bags in the bottom of each planter. Here are some other options to raise the fern planters and allow for drainage…thank you to the readers who left a helpful comment!
- Packing peanuts (put the packing peanuts in a mesh bag, the kind that oranges or potatoes come in, before adding dirt.)
- Floral foam;
- Plastic water bottles or milk jugs.
- A plastic container or empty pot turned upside down.
- A pool noodle from the Dollar Store (easily cut with scissors to your desired size.)
Not including the time it took to shop for the ferns, these planters took less than ten minutes to assemble. I may still actually plant the ferns in potting soil, but if they do well and grow, I’m sure I won’t. You can use this method with any sort of front porch planter…even large, inexpensive terra cotta pots. The trick is making sure that the original container (the one the plant came in) fits inside your decorative planter.
Symmetrical Home Decor: Flanking Your Entrance With Ferns
As a lover of symmetry, I always use matching planters that flank our front door. But if you like to mix things up a bit, grouping smaller pots together is a wonderful way to add interest. It’s also fun to add an outdoor lantern or garden statue.
Fun Facts About Ferns
Ferns are very forgiving and super easy to maintain. They can be neglected for days, but once watered, their foliage bounces right back. Of course, regular watering is best! It’s also helpful to use a water-soluble fertilizer once a month. A few readers mentioned in the comment section that it’s a good idea to spritz the fern fronds with cool water one or two times a week.
A covered porch is the perfect home for ferns, as they thrive in shade. The most popular fern for porches is the beautiful and cascading Boston fern. Ferns also are the perfect thing to use in a hanging planter. The fronds fall over the sides of the plant pots, and they look so lovely blowing softly in the wind. Ferns also look beautiful in tall planters. They have just the right amount of height and visual weight, yet they don’t make a tall planter look top-heavy.
Pictured below are the fern planters at home on our front porch. I just cleaned the porch yesterday…and what a good feeling it is to have that task finished. The time spent outside was so enjoyable, and the end result made me smile!
Affiliate links included. Click HERE for my disclosure statement.
Where to get the front porch planters:
These front porch planters are made by Mayne, and they sell out very quickly. There are different styles and colors, but they will all give your home a timeless and classic look. Mayne planters are great for a gardener with a busy lifestyle, because they are also self-watering. The square planters featured in this post are called Cape Cod planters. They are available on many retail sites, so shop around for the best price. Here are a few helpful links:
- 16 inch Black Mayne Cape Cod Planter at Amazon.com
- 16 inch Black Nantucket Planter at Amazon.com
- 16 inch Black Lakeland Planter at Amazon.com
Other shopping sources:
- The doormat is no longer available. See more choices click {HERE.}
- More front porch sources can be found in my Amazon Shop.
- Get all the information on our Front Door Color.
Click HERE to see the rest of the porch!
How Do I Choose A Planter For My Front Door?
As I said at the beginning, this post was originally published in 2017. Two years later, in 2019, I recreated the same fern planters, but used white metal pots instead of the black planters. You can see the white pots with ferns by clicking {HERE.}
After that, in 2020, I purchased yet another set of porch planters, so I could change the look and feel of our front porch. These planters (pictured below) are very lightweight, and look like galvanized metal. I planted sweet potato vine and ivy, and by mid-summer, it was overflowing and beautiful. Take a look {HERE.}
When spring of 2021 rolled around, I decided to move the faux galvanized planters to our back patio so I could use them for herbs. I had a difficult time deciding on what to put on the front porch, and in the end, I painted two ugly pots to match our front door. Once again, I used ferns, and the green popped right off the blue pots. You can see in the image below, and learn more {HERE.}
To see a cute DIY number planter, click {HERE.}
I will continue to update this post as new inspiration becomes available. Thank you so much for stopping by!
