Colorful Patriotic Small Porch Decor Idea for the 4th of July

This patriotic small porch decor will greet your guests for the 4th of July in a cheery red white and blue way. It’s easy to put together, cost just $20 and is very cheerful and natural looking.

Decorating a small front porch for the 4th of July can be a challenge.  If you add too much to the look of the door, the whole setting can appear top heavy.

My front porch consists of two steps, a small top porch and my door, so I find that using planters is the best way to make it look great but still in proportion.

I love to update my small front porch as the seasons and holidays change. But for a holiday like the 4th of July which comes and goes in a day, I also prefer to keep my expenses to a minimum.

Adding to existing items that I have on hand and using plants that I grow myself helps in this regard.

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Are you ready to dress up your front porch in a patriotic way for the 4th of July? Head to The Gardening Cook for a front porch makeover tutorial.  Share on X

Patriotic Small Porch Decor for $20.  Really?

The key to keeping the costs low for this project is to grow your own plants and to shop wisely.  I started my seeds in peat pellets earlier this spring and I have dozens of plants to choose from now at a really minimal cost.

This whole project cost me less than $20 and the biggest part of the cost where the four caladiums that I purchased.

I also made a trip to the Dollar Store. This is my go to place for inexpensive holiday decorations. They always have a lot of patriotic 4th of July items this time of the year, and I just grab what appeals to me, knowing that the items will make their way into some of my decorative projects.

(See my 4th of July Candy Jar Holders, and red white and blue flower table centerpiece for two fun indoor ideas.)

For this project, I used the following supplies, each costing only $1 each!

• 2 small American flags – for the two tall planters
• 2 Red white and blue star picks – for the clay planters
• Roll of burlap 4th of July ribbon – for the door wreath
• 2 small red white and blue decorations with striped ribbons – for the door wreath
• Small door hanger with red white and blue bells – for the door wreath
• Red Hibiscus flower pick – for the door wreath
• 5/8 inch red white blue ribbon – for the lantern tie

I also used four caladiums that cost $2.99 each. I normally have caladium tubers to start myself, but I forgot to bring them in last fall before the first frost and it’s REALLY hard to locate them if you don’t get to them early, so I had to buy four new ones.

If you don’t get caladium tubers out of the ground before the temps go below 50, they won’t last over the winter.  See my tips for over-wintering the tubers here.

• Fiesta Caladium – Bright white with a large red star in the center – for the tall blue planters
• Strawberry Star Caladium – White with green and red veins – for the two medium sized terracotta planters

To finish the project I used these plants which were all free since I grew them from seeds:

• 14 spider plants
• 4 columbine plants
• 2 large coleus plants with red centers
• 2 foxglove plants

The total cost of the project for me was just $20.

The spider plants came from a single plant that I have been growing all spring.  It had dozens of babies and, even after removing 14 of them, it’s still lush and full.

I’ll let the existing babies grow for a while longer and then use them in more containers. 

When fall comes, I’ll plant up the babies that are left to bring indoors to grow for next spring. I am never without spider plants. Don’t you just love plants for free?

Putting the 4th of July porch decorations together

The porch decorations were super easy to put together. I only spent about two hours on it! I started with the door wreath.

I used an existing door swag from last Christmas which formed the base of my wreath.

It had a large Christmasy bow that I replaced with a patriotic bow made from burlap. The ribbon was quite stiff and I just looped and looped it until I had a pretty bow shape.

Next, I removed two large pine cones and replaced them with the two simple ribbon decorations.  The final step was to tie on the door hanger at the bottom with the bells and then add the large hibiscus flower pick in the center of the wreath.  Ta da!

My door is the perfect color for the 4th of July door swag and in about 20 minutes I was finished.

Adding Plants to the two tall blue planters

I have four planters all the time on my front entry steps and porch and I added two more for this project.  The tall blue planters sit right at the entry and match my door color (and my red white and blue theme!)

I painted them last year with a Sherwin Williams color called Naval. For this project, I wanted them to have some height to make them appear even taller.

I used tall coleus plants at the back of the planters and then added the Fiesta caladiums in front of them in the center of the pot.

A single columbine plant got placed front and center and two spider plant babies were added on each side of it.

All that was left to do for these planters was to add an American flag on the front outside of each and they were finished. Very patriotic looking!

I repeated the look for the similar planter to sit on the left side of the door and put the flag on the left side to balance the look.

Planting up the two terra cotta planters

On either side of my front steps are matching terra cotta planters. They sit in a notched out section on both sides of the steps in the side garden beds and give the illusion of making the front entry steps wider.

I wanted the plants to tie in with my blue planters to coordinate the look.

I used the Strawberry Star caladiums as the focal point of each planter.  Once again, in front of the caladium, I planted a single columbine plant flanked with two spider plant babies. These plants are small now but will grow quickly.

Columbine can be invasive in a garden bed, so having it growing in planters will keep it contained. See my tips for growing columbine here.

Finishing up with two more planters

To fill the space between the tall blue planters and the front terra cotta planters, I chose an 8 inch clay pot to sit on each side of my front porch.

For these planters I chose foxgloves. My two front garden beds have a cottage garden theme going on, so they’ll add to my front porch decor and also tie into the garden bed theme.

I planted on good sized foxglove plant in each clay pot as the focus plant. Foxgloves are a biennial, so I’ll get a few years out of them.  In front of the plant I put three spider plant babies.

Spider plants are ridiculously easy to grow from babies.  I just made sure that the babies I chose had decent roots attached to the baby.

They will attach themselves to the soil and grow in to large plants quickly.

To finish up these planters I added the red white and blue star picks to tie in the patriotic decorations look. Sitting in front of the tall blue planters, the clay planters really add to the 4th of July charm and tie in the whole look.

Adding the final touch to the lantern

I have a large black lantern with a white candle on my porch all the time. It was my mother’s and I love seeing it every time I come home.

All that was needed to dress it up for the 4th of July was a ribbon bow tied on an angle on the lantern holder.

I love the way this side of the project turned out. The whole makeover was so easy, (my favorite kind of project) very inexpensive (which pleases my frugal nature) and incorporates plants that I have grown from seeds.

The foxgloves are biennials so they’ll grow for a few years.  Columbines are perennials so I can keep using them in the planters every year.

I plan to dig up the caladiums this year.  Having them in planters instead of the garden beds means that I will know where to find them even if I forget to dig them up until after the first freeze in the fall.

The coleus are annuals but are also very easy to grow from seed and from cuttings.  I can just grow them again next year.  (See my tips for growing coleus here.)

And the spider plants will make new big mother plants in time that sends out there own babies.  Nature has an amazing way of making sure that plants keep on growing!

The choice of plants means that I’ll be able to enjoy these planters for the 4th of July and beyond. All that will be needed is to remove the 4th of July decor items and redo the wreath for summer.

I love it when I get to extend my decorations for more than just a single holiday!

If you like the way this patriotic small porch decor turned out for the 4th of July, check it out the way I decorated my front door for past holidays:

• Autumn front entry makeover
• Festive Ice Skates Door Swag
• St. Patrick’s Day door swag

Do you decorate your porch entry for the 4th of July? I’d love to see some photos in the comments below!

To remind your self of the project, pin this image to one of your decorating board on Pinterest.

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