Sprucin' Up for Summer

At the new house we have a back deck which I have basically neglected since we moved in last September. For what seemed like ages, I had my old kitchen table out there but no chairs to sit in!  Fortunately I found a bench and chairs recently at World Market (then waited for the coordinating cushions to go on a massive sale...I love World Market sales!)

My mom donated furniture that didn't fit on her new back deck when she moved, so with a few lights hung and some cute touches, we're in business!

Remember my birdcage planter?  It's now hanging here:

Confession: this free piece of lumber I found in our garage wasn't pressure treated!
Which equaled immediate warping and failure to support my string lights.  I have since replaced it with a pressure-treated 2x4.

I will be planting live plants in these containers soon.  What kind should I do?

Just in time for summer!  In the future I will be replacing the throw pillows and getting an outdoor rug, maybe an end table next to the loveseat.  But y'all know me, it is always a process.  For now I am enjoying the improvements over this:

What it looked like with the previous owners.  What a difference furniture makes!

P.S. This post may contain affiliated links, but all opinions are 100% mine, all mine.