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By Dave and Mary
Front Porch Appeal Newsletter
We love the whimsical flowers dancing around this porch.
Beautiful porch landscaping is always a sweet treat for the eyes.
Porches Allow Us to Reclaim Normalcy: Issue #110 July 2020
Photo courtesy of Tucker Hill, McKinney TX
Porches are theraputic and a safe haven of sorts.
Porches are spaces from which to relax and reclaim a sense of normalcy.
And in these days and times where social distancing is a common expression, our porches are wonderful spaces in which to keep distant - yet near!
Often times, we sit on our porch and visit with our neighbors who stop by in our front yard.
Same goes, we say hellos to friends and neighbors on their porches as we walk by.
Porches are blessings especially in these times and we hope that you treasure yours.
What's In This Issue
- Look at These Trellis Ideas
- Our Beautiful Summer Flower Garden and Its Little Troubles
- Have You Tried Motion Sensor Porch Lights?
- Keep Nice and Cool with a Porch Misting System
- We Love Patriotic Porches
- To Our Friends in Business or Simply Love to Learn
- Shade on Your Porch - What a Welcome Relief
- Meet Molly Jo Daisy
- Best Homemade Lemonade Recipe
- Thank You As Always
Look at These Trellis Ideas
You can use a porch trellis as a plant trellis, privacy, or both!
Use trellises for growing your favorite climbing plants, creating privacy from neighbors or not-so-attractive structures, or just to add more allure to your home.
Beautifully designed privacy trellis idea
We like this simple trellis planter which would look great on almost any porch.
You could also place it strategically to create a little privacy too.
This trellis located adjacent to the front porch is a good example of using a trellis for climbing plants as well as creating privacy.
Trellis strategically placed adjacent to front porch
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Small trellis planters are ideal for porches like the one below.
Outdoor Brighton Planter Trellis - Amazon.com affiliate link
Pleasing Porch Trellis
We can imagine a beautiful vine trailing across this trellis for subtle privacy.
Or left as is, it's also a beautiful way to dress up the end of your porch.
We've gathered more porch trellis ideas here.
Our Beautiful Summer Flower Garden
and Its Little Troubles
Hope you like this video Dave and I made
Our beautiful flower garden has been at the mercy of our friendly deer in our neighborhood.
You'd think our garden was a salad, prepared especially for them.
Everything was going well until the other night (and now for several nights) when the deer filled their tummies with our beautiful flowers.
Our flourishing, beautiful potted plants have been eaten down to the dirt.
The deer have enjoyed our penta, begonias, sweet potato vine, vincas and the list goes on.
Yesterday we sprayed our garden with a combination of mouthwash and dishwashing liquid. But they seemed to enjoy it even more!
Tonight we're spraying our plants with vinegar and essential oils to see if that helps.
We've tried commercial sprays too, but they are smelly and cost a lot.
Have You Tried Motion Sensor Porch Lights?
We've noticed many folks are changing out their porch lights to motion sensor lights for added security AND convenience.
Having a bit of light on your porch at night can be welcoming as well as an extra safety measure.
When choosing a motion sensor light, be sure to select one that will provide the lighting options you desire.
The motion sensor light featured below from Amazon.com has a dusk to dawn capability - which we love.
Oberlin Rustic Outdoor Porch Light with Motion Security Dusk to Dawn
Options range from how long they remain on after activation, the range and angle of light emitted, to how bright (or lumens) they produce.
In addition, you'll have many styles from which to choose.
You can even convert your existing light to a motion sensor light by using a motion sensor light bulb like the one below.
Motion Sensor Light Bulb
Keep Nice and Cool with a Porch Misting System
Misting systems are perfect for these hot days of summer.
Installing a misting system on your porch, deck, or patio will allow you to enjoy the outdoors in cooling the surrounding air temperature down to 68 degrees, in some cases.
Misting can even be used around trampolines, umbrellas, and other structures to bring needed relief.
Not only are they easy to install and maintain, you can entertain outdoors in comfort.
Here's a popular misting system
HOMENOTE Misting Cooling System - Amazon.com (affiliate link)
Patriotic Porches in Tucker Hill, McKinney TX
Each year around the 4th of July, the porch community of Photo courtesy of Tucker Hill, in McKinney TX holds a patriotic porch contest.
We like sharing their photos with you and here are two we especially love!
This year's winner - beautiful!
The pops of color from the flags and pillows make this porch a beautiful place to enjoy. Talk about super inviting!
To Our Friends in Business
Or Simply Love to Learn
Here's what we know for sure:
- We feel alive when we are learning new things.
- We feel alive when we are making progress
- We feel alive when we earn from our talents and gifts
- And for those reasons alone, the BC Stack is worth exploring for a small price of $47.
This is the sixth straight year that our son Dan and his wife Rachel put together the BC Stack, an extraordinary bundle of digital products for people in business.
OR for people who'd love to get in business, even if in a small way, especially during these uncertain times.
Learning is something that feeds the soul and heart.
Imagine what you could learn even this week and beyond, if you had these tools on your side..
Shade on Your Porch - What a Welcome Relief
Mary and I greatly reduced the heat in our home (and saved on A/C) by installing roll up shades on our porch.
We've had them for a few years and are so grateful as they greatly reduce the heat inside the front of our home.
We put them down around 2 in the afternoon until the sun dips below the trees.
What a blessing they are to our home!
You can reduce heat and the sun's harmful rays several ways.
From roll-up shades like we have on our porch (above)to retractable shades and blinds, you can easily save on your A/C bill and be quite comfortable in the "dogs days of summer".
Roll up shades are designed to work on patios, decks, pergolas, balconies, and of course, porches.
Exterior Roll Up Shades - Amazon.com affiliate link
Meet Molly Jo Daisy
Molly Jo Daisy, a happy go lucky ten-year-old girl, is the main character in Mary's Molly Jo Daisy book series.
Mary writes fun stories of Molly Jo Daisy and her family to help children see the power of their minds.
Mary will soon be adding a new book to her series. The title is Molly Jo Daisy: Finding Home Again.
In this book, Molly Jo Daisy has moved with her family and her Grandma from Nashville TN to Maple River, a sweet, fictitious town on the seacoast of Maine.
Moving over a thousand miles away from the place she calls home, Molly Jo expects her life will never ever be the same.
And she's right. She experiences new adventures she never could have imagined!
In our next newsletter edition, we will tell you how to get Mary's new book.
And yes, Molly Jo lives in a house with a big front porch!
Best Homemade Lemonade Recipe
Our friends, Donna and Danny, sure do know how to make lemonade.
Chock full of freshly sliced lemons, it's a summer delight for sure.
Their Delicious Recipe
Our thanks for Danny and Donna for sharing their recipe with us.
- 6 fresh lemons
- 2 qts. water
- 2/3 to 1 cup sugar (to your taste)
- Ice
- 2-quart glass pitcher
Wash the lemons well.
Set the lemons in the sun for about two hours to get them nice and warm (perhaps on your porch or patio).
Then roll the lemons to loosen them up inside.
Slice the lemons and discard the ends.
In the 2-quart glass pitcher, add the sliced lemons, 2/3 cup sugar and fill with water.
Let it set in the refrigerator overnight and do a taste test in the morning.
You may want to add a little extra sugar.
Serve over ice and enjoy!
Thank You as Always
Beautiful porch from our hometown
Thank you for spending a few moments with us here.
We hope our newsletter brings you a bit of peace and joy in your busy week.
May you stay safe and healthy - and most of all may you get to spend some relaxing times on your porch!
Even if you don't have a porch, take some time to put your feet up and enjoy the outdoors wherever you can - whether you have a deck, patio, garage or stoop.
It's all good.
We appreciate you very much!
We value our sponsors and the products and services they provide.
They are like family to us!
You're invited to be part of our Facebook community.
We share ideas with one another for decorating and using our porches.
We are blessed with over 17,000 followers and would love to count you among them.
Please enjoy browsing past issues of our newsletters right here.
Take a few moments of chill time.
Happy porch sitting from your friends,
Mary and Dave
Life is short. Enjoy your porch.
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We also earn commissions from other companies where are are participants of their referral programs.
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Hi! We're Mary and Dave, lifelong DIYers, high school sweethearts, and we both love porches.
You've come to the right place for thousands of porch ideas.
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Hi! We're Mary and Dave, lifelong DIYers, high school sweethearts, and we both love porches.
You've come to the right place for thousands of porch ideas.
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Our friends, Donna and Danny, sure do know how to make lemonade.
Chock full of freshly sliced lemons, it's a summer delight for sure.
Please 
