Today was one of those August days when Louisiana reminds you just how hot summer can be. With temperatures reaching around 105 degrees, staying inside certainly would have been the sensible choice. But I had plants waiting, a porch calling my name, and an old house that I love bringing back to life one little corner at a time.

A Little More Life Around the Porch

I have been wanting to add more color and life around our porch, so today I worked with bright chartreuse sweet potato vines in several of our old-style planters. Against the cream stucco and terra-cotta roof, that wonderful green almost glows. I love how something as simple as a trailing vine can soften the architecture and make the porch feel welcoming and lived in.

I also added the mahogany-colored patio umbrella. I wanted something that felt a little more traditional than a typical modern patio umbrella, and the deep mahogany shade works beautifully with the terra-cotta roof, black wrought-iron furniture, and all that fresh green around it.

Bringing Back the Pink Dogwood

But the part of today that meant the most was bringing home a pink dogwood.

Years ago, a beautiful pink dogwood grew here on the property. From what we have learned about the home and from the stories that have been shared with us, it had been here for many years and bloomed beautifully before it was lost after a bad windstorm in the early 1990s. Knowing that made me think, why not bring a dogwood back?

It obviously loved its home here before, and there is something especially meaningful about planting another pink dogwood where this old house once had one. It feels less like adding something new and more like returning a little piece of the home’s story to the landscape.

Waiting for Joey to Come Home

There is another reason I have been smiling so much while working around the house this week. Joey is away on his hitch working offshore right now, and he will finally be home next week. After 28 long days away from home, working so hard on the other side of the world, I cannot wait for him to see everything I have been doing while he has been gone.

That has become one of the sweetest parts of his homecomings for me. I am always tinkering with something while he is away, moving a planter, finding an old piece for the house, planting something new, or bringing another little corner back to life. He gets so excited when he comes home and sees what has changed.

There is nothing quite like picking him up at the airport after he has been gone so long and then turning into our driveway together. Seeing the look on his face when he realizes he is finally home, and watching him notice all the little things I have worked on while he was away, puts the biggest smile on my face. Those moments melt my heart every single time.

Helping an Old House Remember Itself

There is something incredibly satisfying about caring for an old house this way. Sometimes preservation is research, paperwork, and studying old photographs. Other times, it is simply standing outside on a very hot afternoon with dirt on your hands, planting something beautiful where something beautiful once grew.

By the end of the day I was hot, tired, and completely happy. The porch feels greener, softer, and just a little more like the home it might have been many years ago.

And that is really what I love most about this house. We are not trying to make it new. We are slowly helping it remember itself.

What I Added to the Porch

Some of the items used in this porch project were purchased through Amazon. I will be adding my product links here. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

• Shop the Mahogany Patio Umbrella on Amazon
• Shop the Lime Green Patio Chair Cushions on Amazon
• Shop the Sweet Potato Vines on Amazon
• Shop the Pink Dogwood Tree on Amazon

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Have you ever replanted a tree, flower, or garden feature because it once belonged to the history of your home? I would love to hear about it in the comments. 🌸