Your home’s pool is a major design focal point, and it’s not just enough to make sure your pool water stays clean and clear.
With as much time you spend around the pool, it’s essential that you accessorize it with the right landscaping for a picture-perfect backyard. But when it comes to surrounding greenery for your pool, not all additions are created equal.
When you’re choosing plants, rocks, and trees to compliment your pool, you should keep in mind which accessories and shrubbery will be easy to maintain throughout the year and especially during the summer.
Here are our top tips for choosing different outdoor embellishments for your pool:
Trees
Choosing trees that do not constantly shed leaves is extremely important. Though fruit trees and Myrtles may look beautiful, you must take in account how much time you’ll spend cleaning up their fruit and flowers out of your pool.
Even the most obvious choices for your backyard, such as oaks or pines, will still be a hassle, as they tend to drop needles, leaves, pine cones, flowers, and acorns into your pool and onto your deck, possible damaging both.
Some good options for manageable, pool-friendly trees include:
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Windmill Palm
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River Birch
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Emerald Green Arborvitae
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Skyrocket Juniper
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Mediterranean Fan Palm
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California Fan Palm
These trees can help emphasize the design of your backyard, from tropical and colorful to chic and clean. Regardless, it’s important to prioritize trees that don’t leave an excess of debris, will provide shade and privacy, and won’t hurt your pool with extensive root systems.
Rocks and Pebbles
It’s a great idea to implement rocks or pebbles around the outside of your pool. These tools will severely decrease the amount of debris that will enter the pool.
Not only will this cut down on unnecessary cleaning, it will help your pool look elegant and can easily compliment any design choices.
Larger stones are useful to line flower beds, and smaller stones can reduce the cleanup from using mulch and soil from smaller gardens. But remember, rocks or boulders that aren’t placed strategically can look haphazard and disorganized. By placing these additions carefully, you’ll be left with a nice finished look while forming a barrier to prevent the debris from entering your pool.
Plants
There’s a few important things to consider as you’re choosing plants to place around your pool, including:
- How will they fair in the winter?
- Will they attract stinging insects or other pests?
- Do they have sharp thorns or spines that could hurt people?
- Will they be hurt by splashes from the pool?
- Do they have invasive root systems that could interfere with your pool?
- How much debris will make its way into your pool?
While some of the flowers at your local greenhouse may look gorgeous, they may not be the best choice for your family’s pool. Bright colors often attract bees, which could be a problem if lots of people are gathering in your backyard. Some flowers are also so delicate, pool splashes or too much water could kill them. On the other hand, flowers like roses or succulents like cacti could lead to a painful accident.
Good choices of greenery to be planted around your pool include grasses, hedges, geraniums, hydrangeas, hearty succulents, and perennial flowers are a good bet for successful garden additions.
If you’re worried about your flowers or plants surviving the winter, consider creating a container garden. These can sit above and around the pool or safely on your deck, and can be brought inside in the event of a storm or to avoid harsh winters.
It’s Time to Start Planning
Landscaping around your pool can be an extensive DIY project. It’s certainly possible, but choosing the perfect trees, shrubbery and rock accessories can be a little overwhelming.
Because of this, many homeowners find it worthwhile to hire a professional to complete the work. A landscaping professional can give you personalized advice on what works best for your space, taking away the stress of picking the right pieces for your backyard.
Either way, a nicely landscaped area surrounding your pool will create a warm and fun atmosphere that will encourage you to spend more of your summer poolside.
