Sharing all the details about our Easy DIY Front Porch Planters & what plants are best for pergola post planters.
Ever since we added a DIY pergola to the front entrance of our farmhouse it has been screaming for a vine!
Who builds a pergola without something to climb up it?
We finally got our act together and have 2 stone front porch planters for our pergola & I can’t wait to share them with you guys!
Table of Contents
Front Porch Planters for our Pergola
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Our Front Porch Planters…
While l was shopping for plants at Lowes I stumbled upon these monster concrete planters.
I texted Jason to see if he loved the look of them as much as I did… thankfully, he did!
I grabbed 2 strong employees & all 3 of us loaded 2 of them into my car along with a cart full of plants & potting soil.
Let me tell you, these front porch planters are HEAVY!
I love the classic look they have & in my opinion, are very stately :).
Supplies Needed to Plant your Front Porch Planters
- Stone Planters or Planter of your Choice
- Stones for Drainage
- Landscape Fabric
- Potting Soil
- Manure or Fertilizer
- Evergreen Shrubs (we chose small Boxwoods)
- Climbing Vine (we chose Climbing Hydrangeas)
- Mulch
Step by Step Instructions for How to Add Plants to Your Front Porch Planters
Step ONE – Add Rocks for Drainage
I grabbed some rocks leftover from our back patio renovation & filled the pots approximately 6 inches with some stones to help with drainage.
Step TWO – Add Landscape Fabric on Top of the Stones
I added landscape fabric on top of the stones to keep the dirt from falling through the stones.
Step THREE – Add Potting Soil to your Front Porch Planters
I added 2 bags of potting soil along with a little manure to each stone planter.
Step FOUR – Plant your Evergreen Shrubs & Vines
We chose climbing hydrangeas for our pergola vine.
Jason & I both love hydrangeas & these vines are not as invasive as ivy (which we had considered) & wisteria.
The climbing hydrangea will add some much needed color to our front porch from the spring through the fall.
And the best part is that because it is the end of the planting season here in PA we bought the plants half off!
Because I didn’t want the vines to look dead in the winter, I also added a small boxwood to each pot.
Best Plants for Front Porch Planters & Pergolas
Small Evergreens are the BEST plants you can plant in front porch planters because they are green ALL YEAR LONG & they add much needed interest to your front porch in the dead of winter.
You can change out flowers (& pumpkins) for extra color & to go with whatever season you want to celebrate.
Lastly, You can’t have a pergola without a vine climbing on it!
Step FIVE – Add Mulch
Add mulch to finish off your front porch planters.
What could be more classic than boxwood & stone planters?!!!
Fall Front Porch Planter Ideas
I loved the look of our new front porch planters so much that it inspired me to decorate our front porch for fall.
But… you probably already figured that out thanks to all the pumpkins. 😉
I added the kids pumpkins to each planter along with some more pumpkins & a pumpkin pillow to our front porch bench.
I absolutely love the look of our new front porch planters.
I can’t wait to watch our new vine grow over our pergola for years to come.
Thanks so much for stopping by to see our new front porch planters!
by Tara Lehman
Don’t Forget to Save & Pin our Front Porch Planters for Fall!
Fall Decorating Ideas from our Farmhouse
Some More Front Porch Ideas You Might Enjoy
My daughter has a climbing hydrangea and believe me, it will take over your pergola and need to be cut back. It’s a beautiful plant and I know she would call it rather invasive, even though she loves it and works hard to keep it controlled. It will be perfect for your pergola but will also attach itself to anything else around it – such as window frames, porch railings, etc. Just thought I’d let you know about one person’s experience.
Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my front porch planters and for telling me about your daughters experience with her climbing hydrangea Pat! We planted another one on our back lattice fence a few years ago and haven’t had too much trouble with it taking over but will certainly be keeping our eyes out for that :).
Love your pergola – all looks great – Boxwoods were a great choice -they only grow about
one inch a year.
Thank you so much for stopping by to read about our front porch planters Bess! We are really happy with how it turned out!
We love the featured bench. Are there plans available for it. My husband is a woodworker and would love to make this for our son and daughter-in law.
Thanks so much for stopping by to check out our front porch post Sondra! Our red porch bench is a Craigslist find so unfortunately I don’t have any plans. I do have more pictures of the entryway bench in this post if your husband wants to try to build one like it, https://lehmanlane.net/my-new-entryway-bench/