Patriotic Outside Decorations

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the patriotic holidays~

 

MEMORIAL DAY

FLAG DAY

FOURTH OF JULY

VETERANS DAY

I get chills and my eyes often well up when I hear or sing our national anthem, especially “…gave proof through the night that our flag was still there…” Wow. What a sight it must have been, to see the beloved Stars and Stripes after a night of fierce battle in the War of 1812. Certainly powerful enough to have inspired 35-year-old Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and amateur poet, to write such an inspiring lyric!

As I started to write this post, Flag Day was waning. It was a glorious, perfect day here in central Ohio—the kind of day where the sky is that perfect shade of blue with big white poufy clouds that serves as the perfect backdrop to our beautiful flag.

Source: http://all-free-download.com/free-photos/american_flag_194592.html

As you might’ve noticed, I love to decorate with red—it’s such a versatile color! It works for Valentine’s Day, and for patriotic holidays, and for Christmas…just add accent colors and you’re on your way with seasonal colors! So every spring, as I buy our annuals, I buy a lot of red flowers, 1) because I LOVE red (did I already mention that?); 2) I LOVE hummingbirds, and they LOVE red; and 3) because I’m planning ahead to Flag Day and the Fourth of July—I know I’ll want to incorporate flags into the flowerpots and I’ll want the flowers to coordinate with the décor.

It’s so much fun for me to decorate our front porch and screened porch! I invite you to come on over and let’s take a walk around the house!

Our cottage is a light taupe with burgundy shutters and white trim, which is perfect for decorating—neutral enough, but with some color and contrast. Can you believe that, after all these years of decorating for patriotic holidays, I hadn’t noticed that the hand-painted slate heart I use so often has the same colors as the house? How’s that for a happy coincidence?!

I like things a little shabby and a little chic, so while we have well-painted trim and furniture, but we also have shabby and chippy, like the little red wicker table. It’s shabby and chippy, and not chic. And the flowerpot shows signs of years of wear, and in my book, that’s okay too. We wouldn’t want things to be too perfect and pristine around here!

The chippy table holds a lovely geranium I’ve named “Brushstrokes.” I was going to “erase” the lettering on the flag, but WAIT! It reads "MADE IN USA!!" Well, that needs to stay right where it is!! Surely American flags should not be made anywhere but in the USA! Unfortunately, some are made in other countries! There ought to be a law banning that!

Red, white and blue flowers by the front door, with flags, of course!

The vintage wicker table sports a {red} geranium {when it’s cooperating for a photo shoot}, and additional touches of RED, WHITE, and BLUE.

These hurricanes are pretty neat when the candles are lit, so they’re great to have out on the porch to light while enjoying the swing.

Now let’s walk around to the back~

One of my favorite garden items is this old, old, old twig chair…it has surely seen its better days, but I still like the texture it brings to the {garden} party, so I’ve kind of cobbled it together to extend its life for a year or two. I haven’t seen one like it to replace it…I’ll be sad when it’s time to say goodbye.

A few more pictures to share, then next week I’ll share a patriotic table and china cabinet.

Isn’t she oh, so beautiful?

Having fled to the USA from Cuba in search of freedom, on the Fourth of July {and every day, really} I’ll be thankful to have found freedom, thankful to those whose sacrifices granted and continue to grant us our freedom, and thankful for a country that welcomed our family and allowed us to work and re-establish ourselves.

Are there particular reasons why you celebrate the Fourth of July?

The best reason, of course, is because we are Americans, sons and daughters of this great land.

LONG MAY SHE WAVE!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I’m thrilled to know you stopped by, and I’ll always visit back and comment too. If you like what you see, I invite you to follow me (I promise to follow back), and please—Pin away and follow me on Pinterest too! Thank you!!

NOTE: Some of the items I use in my posts are in my Etsy shop, but many are not, simply because I haven’t updated my shop. If you see something you like and wonder if it’s available for sale, email me at coral5252@gmail.com and let’s talk!

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni