Hanging Plants on Porch

Impatients
Petunias
Geraniums
These are easy plants.
Water them, letting the soil dry in between waterings or when especially hot water more or as the soil dries out.

You can also buy ready made plants in hanging baskets. Home Depot has them.
Easy.
That is how, many people have year-round nice flowering plants in their pots and hanging pots.
Just get them from a store, already potted in a hanging basket.
Its worth it.

Keep in mind, that with "annual" flowering plants, they will die out at the end of their cycle. Then you simply replace them with another new potted plant. Or starter plants from the store.

SH said exactly what I would have said! :)

I hang fuchsias on my deck every year - they come in vibrant beautiful colors and attract hummingbirds. I have to water them about every day but then they last almost all summer and are beautiful.

I love bougainvillea! You might need to live in a more tropical area for that, though. Like someone else mentioned, geraniums do very well hanging, or in pots. Happy planting!

I too love the look of hanging baskets and lots of blooms, but I also hate bees. So I just deal with plants instead - plus they're easier.
I completely recommend a Wondering Jew. It's a vine type plant and has very pretty multi colored leaves. But my favorite thing about it is that when it is in the sun for a while (not all day sun, just some sun daily) the underside of the leaves turn bright pink! It is simply gorgeous!!! You get the look of blooms without actual flowers so no bees!
Good luck

wave petunias
bacopa
Calibrachoa' (Million Bells or Superbells)
sweet potato
double impatiens
fuschia

Petunias would probably be my pick for a hanging basket on a porch. Geraniums do very well too. Impatiens -especially the New Guinea variety are lovely, but if that 1/2 day of sun is strong, it may take a toll on them. They like shadiness.

Oxalis would work. They are really pretty purple flowers w/ heart shaped leaves. We use them here (and it's way more hot in Texas :) and they stay blooming a long time. They also do very well in shade. We forgot to water them for 2 weeks last year and they did fine. I'll include a link, so you know what they look like.

http://buddygarden.com/blog/2008/07/22/purple-leaf-oxalis/

The flower options mentioned are great in baskets...I make my baskets with many of the plants listed below every year. The trick to making them look full and show color constantly is the fertilizer. The reason the baskets at the garden centers are so nice is because they fertilize every 5-7 days during spring and summer.

Another plant to consider that I didn't see listed below and that I've enjoyed is Torenia. Also, the other day while looking around the internet I found that provenwinners.com has some great container recipes and gives you the list of everything to get. Good luck and happy planting!

OK, so I have nothing to add here I just wanted to thank you for asking the question. As I type this, it's snowing like crazy out my window -- and I am so very, very done with snow!

Reading about hanging plants and porches, petunias, geraniums, vinca and impatiens (I agree -- they like shade) makes me happy. Maybe, sooner or later, we'll have spring, too.

Geraniums, Trailing Petunias, Sweet Potato Vine & Vinca. I live in SC and put these in my porch boxes every spring/summer. We get sun until 12-1:00 each day. They do great! I usually change them out in September. Good luck!

wave petunias are your best friend! gorgeous, incredibly easy, and a dazzling array of colors and patterns to choose from. fuschia. sweet potato vines. pansies. snap dragons. some of the nurseries around here have ready-to-rock planters for a surprisingly low price if you want instant pizazz. it's pretty fun to create your own, though.
thanks for the spring thoughts on a cold dreary drizzly morning!
:) khairete
S.

Like the other ladies, I want to thank you for asking this spirit lifting question. Portulacas (sp?) are wonderful, LOVE the sun, and are very forgiving if you don't water them for a day. Or three. You don't have to dead head but they seem to perform better if you do. You can keep the seeds from the dead heads, toss them in a pot next year, and have flowers over and over. My mom has these and I really don't think she bought more than 2 plants a few yrs ago and now she easily has 20 plants and throws out the dead flowers. Lord only knows how many plants she could have now! They also creep a bit on the ground, so beds are an option too.