A pool makes a dramatic addition to any backyard. It’s a source of entertainment, and also a landscaping quagmire. Some homeowners struggle to landscape around their pool, with concerns that their pool takes up all usable space and prevents them from installing beautiful shrubbery.
Your pool and landscaping can work hand in hand, but it’s important to work with the right landscaping company. If your pool is pre-existing, your landscaping company can work with the space you already own to create a beautiful and relaxing outdoor environment. If your pool is not yet installed, it’s important to assemble a team that can make the most of your property.
How will my pool affect my landscaping?
Your pool is a focal point in your landscape. The eyes are drawn to that big blue shape on the lawn. Once installed, a pool will influence your landscaping in a variety of ways. These tips can help ensure that your pool will look its best in the environment where it is placed.
Keep Landscaping Practical
Shrubs, flowers and trees tend to shed debris that can blow around and fill spaces like pools and pool decks. When choosing shrubs and plants for the area around your pool, it’s important to identify types that create as little debris as possible.
- Succulents. Succulents are slow-growing plants that are easy to keep contained to flower beds. They require little pruning and often create little debris.
- No-mess perennials. Some perennials just make little mess, producing few dead leaves and needing little pruning or trimming over time. Hostas, ornamental grasses and heuchera are all examples of these kinds of plants.
- Contained flowers. Most flowers produce lots of dead blossoms and even seeds as they age – but some do not. Some good examples of flowers that make little mess include zinnias, marigolds and strawflowers.
Landscaping needs to be set back far enough that it will not impede your ability to use your pool. If you’re working with a landscaping company, you should have no trouble with this.
What can I do to make my pool look like a natural part of my backyard space?
Pools have a way of standing out, and sometimes they can be tough to integrate into outdoor spaces. You can make your pool look like a natural part of your backyard space, but it helps to work with a landscaper that knows how to strategically position trees, shrubs and flowers around your pool deck and in the surrounding environment.
Strategically Position Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs frame the landscaping around your pool, to create a varying green space that adds an attractive border around the deck. When planting trees, be cognizant of how large the tree will grow. Keep trees that might shed leaves far back, or you could spend the next several years fishing leaves out of your pool.
Integrate Boulders Into Your Landscaping
One way to make your pool look more like a natural part of your landscaping is to integrate boulders into the area just around the pool deck. This creates a transition from water to pavement to natural stone, so that the leaves and other plants around your pool seem to be a more natural part of the environment.
One way to smooth the transition from a man-made pool to natural landscaping is to install a water feature near the pool, with boulders and a waterfall. Install this feature just to the side of your pool.
Install Planter Beds Near the Pool
Line the pool deck with planter beds where you can plant large tropical plants or one of the easily contained plants described above. Line the planter beds with stone to prevent any dirt or leaves from blowing into your pool.
How can I prevent my pool from taking up all my usable backyard space?
Pools do take up a lot of usable space in the backyard, so it’s important to work with a landscaping company that can help you make efficient use of the remaining space. They can help you by devising design proposals that will enable you to make good use of the remaining space in your backyard.
Installing hardscaping is one way that your landscaper can help you create more useful space. By installing a separate patio, deck or play equipment set back away from the pool, your landscaping team will help you install useful space where you can engage in non-pool activities.
Work With Hidden Creek Landscaping
Want to make the space around your pool look its best? Call Hidden Creek Landscaping to discuss your upcoming landscape installation and what you can do to make your backyard a more attractive space for your swimming pool.
If you’re installing a pool in your backyard, talk to us to find out which pool installation contractors we’ve worked with in the past. By working with a team that already knows and trusts each other, you can help ensure that your pool and landscaping installation will be a success.