Flowering Spring Branches + The Perfect Front Porch Bench

It’s officially porch season! Decorating our front porch may be one of my favorite parts of being a homeowner. To be 100% honest though I’m not one of those people who goes and sits on the porch to have a cup of coffee in the morning. I have so much fun decorating and filling the area with flowers once the weather warms up though, so I may have to reconsider that. I dug out this peony wreath that I made last year (you can see that tutorial here) and added some fresh flowering spring branches by the door to really kick off the spring season at our house.

So about this bench. We were on a Target run for snacks a few weeks ago (I bet a lot of people’s stories start out like that) and we ended up walking out with a bench… well, a bench and snacks. Which by the way we hadn’t even considered if said bench would fit into our car (luckily it did after some clever maneuvering). But really though I was so excited when I saw this outdoor windsor style bench. Since we’ve lived in our house I hadn’t been able to find something the right size piece for our front porch. Everything would either take up too much room or not enough. This bench ended up being the perfect fit and I love how it works with the overall style of our house. Plus, it’s only $79! It’s actually a dining bench and part of an entire farmhouse set which is really cute if you are looking for outdoor dining furniture.

The blooming branches are from our weeping cherry tree in the backyard. The tree needed some major pruning (there were branches criss crossing everywhere, not good!) so I gave it the shape up it needed. When you prune a spring flowering tree and want to keep the branches for decoration, cut the branches when the buds are formed but before they are blooming. Before putting the branches in a bucket of water, take your scissors and cut up and through the center so the branches can absorb as much water as possible. Make sure to change the water with flower food every few days. I love watching the spring branches bloom in the house!