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Pool planter landscaping ideas


Pool landscaping ideas: The best materials to use in and around a backyard pool

Good pool landscaping ideas need careful thought, planning and preparation. 

But worry not. We break down all you need to know about the different types of pool landscaping, from pool landscaping with rocks to pool ideas for privacy and shade.

The materials used – from paving, aggregates and decking, to decorative edging and the hard materials employed for in-ground pools – add texture and character to a backyard pool garden, marking out the structure and leading the eye through to the swimming pool and beyond.

The best time to undertake a pool landscape redesign is in winter, when the backyard is dormant. But the summer months are the time to analyze the ways in which you use the space and to understand what you need from your future design. 

These backyard ideas will help you find the best ways to landscape around a pool and explain what you need to consider before you begin.

Pool landscaping ideas

From putting greens to privacy, these landscaping ideas add major value (and fun) to your pool area.

1. Plant on an island

(Image credit: Brittany Farinas, House of One / Lifestyle Production Group)

Your pool landscaping ideas don't have to be relegated to the sides of the pool. For an original idea that evokes a tropical resort, bring the vegetation into the pool by stationing it on an island structure right in the middle of water, like at this Florida home by Brittany Farinas of House of One Interiors . Want to go full paradise vibes? Use palms. 

2. Use lighting to enhance the landscape

(Image credit: Designer: The Fox Group Photographer: Lindsay Salazar)

Lighting is the perfect complement to pool landscaping. It can emphasize certain features (try uplighting shrubs and trees) and enhance the overall ambience of a newly landscaped space.

String lights are a pool lighting idea that's more about form than function, but the ambience a set of bistro lights will add to your pool area is second to none.  

If you're lucky enough to have a pool house, use it as an anchor point for your string lights, and stretch them above the length of the pool, like The Fox Group did, above. No pool house? Try filling the bottom of whisky barrel planters with cement, then inserting a wooden post to create a semi-permanent anchor point for lights. Don't forget to finish off the planters with soil and your favorite annuals. 

3. Use planters to add personal style

(Image credit: Thomas Guy Interiors / Haylei Smith)

Both your planters and the plants you put in them are a chance to add your personal style to your pool patio ideas.

'We like to include banana leaf trees and orchids to add a touch of nature, and high-design planters can be a creative way to show off one’s own personal style,' says Lance Thomas of Louisiana-based Thomas Guy Interiors . Above, Thomas chose organic planters and unstructured ferns to complement the contemporary, minimalist pool design. 

4.

Include a putting green

(Image credit: Breegan Jane)

Your pool landscaping ideas can offer more than just beauty and a bit of shade. Add recreation to the list by installing a putting green adjacent to your pool patio, like interior designer Breegan Jane did at her client's Southern California home, where the goal of the outdoor space was to 'surprise and delight.'

5.  Use landscaping for privacy

(Image credit: Brittany Farinas, House of One Interiors / Lifestyle Production Group)

Looking for a pool fence idea that adds privacy and beauty? Your landscaping can do the job if you plant high trees or bushy shrubs around the perimeter of your pool or property, a la this Florida property. 

Another idea we love from this photo? The cabana. When you're brainstorming your landscaping and pool area ideas, don't forget to include a shady spot to retreat to when you're tired of sunbathing. 

6. Invest in LED lighting around a pool

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton )

When considering pool landscaping, smart pool lighting ideas certainly have their part to play. A well-planned lighting scheme can do wonders for your backyard pool and shouldn't be an afterthought.

'For small cascades and fountains, direct underwater spotlights onto the plinth of flowing water, or run a color-changing LED strip along the rill from which the water emerges,' suggests Sally Storey, lighting director at John Cullen. 

An impressive backyard pool is hugely enhanced when illuminated at night. Underwater lights can be halogen, LED or fiber optic, but they must be encased in waterproof, IP-rated fixtures. 

Alternatively, solar garden lighting ideas, such as bulbs hidden in between evergreens or in containers create a soft glow.

7. Pick the perfect pool deck landscaping

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton Photography)

Poolside deck ideas provide versatile and cost-effective ways to extend your living area into the outdoors. What's more, decking creates the perfect focal point for a low-maintenance yard, and is cheaper and easier to use than paving.

At its best, a sturdy, water-resistant timber deck is a handsome, hard-wearing pool area idea that complements most backyard pool settings.

But decks don’t only look good: other advantages include being relatively lightweight in comparison to stone, quick and easy to install and forgiving. Plus, timber can be cut to size to fit perfectly round awkward corners – perfect if you don't have a rectangular pool.

8. Add shade and privacy with ivy

(Image credit: Future / Armelle Habib)

In an ideal world our pool areas would be private sanctuaries where we could swim, entertain and relax away from prying eyes. 

Yet, for many pool owners, the reality is quite different. Spending time outdoors can be like living in a goldfish bowl because there is nothing to screen their backyard pool from neighboring windows. 

Smart garden shade ideas are great if you want to shield your pool area from the neighborhood and create shady coverage at the same time. A good place to start is with your pool fence or property boundary.

If you have an existing fence or trellis, plant ivy near the base to create a living privacy wall. No fence? Plant a deciduous hedge, or trail ivy up a wall using a trellis.

9. Landscape with rocks, trees and overgrown grasses

(Image credit: Future / © Roy Westwood)

If you are not one for a traditional pool area, then consider a more natural landscape for your outdoor swim. 

Today’s natural pools – or swimming ponds as they are often known – are welcomed into the border garden, whether in a formal setting of lawns, surrounded by flowers and grasses, or even made to look like a natural garden pond. 

For a rugged appearance, take inspiration from creative rock garden ideas and lay down plenty of misshapen rocks, pebbles and limestone. The main highlight of a rock garden is the quiet, zen-like aesthetic they add to your backyard. 

10. Highlight a rectangular pool with flower beds and borders

(Image credit: Future / Alistair Nicholls)

Whether you like raised garden bed ideas or you prefer planting straight into the ground, flower beds can make exceptional dividers for a garden path around a backyard pool.  

This is especially the case when you bring tall, architectural plants into the mix. This smart garden path idea is a beautiful way to establish the boundary of a walkway and to zone off your pool area from the rest of the garden. 

What's more, it will continue to offer color and structure throughout the seasons, even when the pool is not in use.

11. Set up a seating area around the pool

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton)

When considering pool patio ideas and other hard landscaping materials for a pool, your first priority will be to establish the functional spaces, from terraces and patios, to paths and borders around the swimming pool. 

The expanse of an area and its use will dictate which materials are most suitable.

For instance, a hard standing for a table and chairs needs to be flat and stable, and you might want to keep granular aggregates, such as gravel or bark, away from the pool so they are not carried into the water. 

12.

Install a non-slip surface 

(Image credit: Future / Polly Eltes)

While a pebble-dashed floor isn't entirely non-slip, it is certainly a less slippery option in comparison to stone slabs, pavers and decking. 

Opt for an entirely smooth surface to avoid any nasty cuts on the feet and if your pool is indoors, be sure to include a professional drainage system. 

Proper drainage will ensure that the water in your in-ground pool remains clean and protects your surrounding yard, deck, patio, landscaping, and home from possible water damage, erosion, and debris. 

Plus, no one wants to be constantly mopping up water. 

13. Landscape around a pool with grass

(Image credit: Kimberley Harrison / Kathryn MacDonald)

Your lawn serves as a huge source of air conditioning for your garden and also releases oxygen and simultaneously captures dust, keeping you and your family healthy, so it's a perfect option for near a pool area. 

To reap the many benefits to the full, keep your lawn as healthy as possible and your lawn pays you back for all the work you put into it.  

What’s more, your lawn needs plenty of water to encourage the roots to grow deep into the ground, and the best way to achieve this is to water deep. Try to water heavily, on an infrequent basis. 

Plus, you’ll want to make sure the chlorine from the pool doesn’t sit on top for too long. 

14. Use concrete as a modern alternative to stone slabs

(Image credit: Future / Matthew Williams)

Lusting after a modern industrial landscape? Durable, easy to clean and heat-retaining, there’s a lot to love about concrete flooring in a modern backyard. 

Perfect for nailing the urban trend, it works best in contemporary spaces, but can also be mixed with plenty of greenery and colored foliage for a striking contrast.   

While the use of concrete has become commonplace, it was once seen as an inferior material in comparison to stone. But if we can forget about it as a cheap substitute we discover that it has its own intrinsic qualities, as interesting as natural materials and very much more versatile.  

Concrete is quite simply a blend of aggregates – sand and gravel or crushed stone – bonded together in a dense, stone-like mass by hardened cement. 

This material has made possible incredible structures and surfaces. It is the cement that gives concrete its dull-gray appearance, and so the secret with in-situ garden paving is to remove the cement from the surface before it sets. 

15. Mix materials around a pool

(Image credit: Belgard)

Large patio pavers have been gaining popularity in California in recent years, and it is easy to see why. 

If you're wondering how to make your garden feel more modern without embarking on an overly expensive redesign, then you should seriously consider employing oversized patio pavers for the landscaping around your pool. 

As far as backyard landscaping ideas go, large pavers are the opposite of discreet and that's exactly why we're seeing more of them in outdoor paving designs. 

Bold and immediately noticeable, oversized paving slabs create an instant indoor-outdoor effect, because they emit the luxury look of indoor tiles – just outdoors.

What is best to put around a pool?

(Image credit: Future / Jody Stewart)

Paving slabs are one of the most common garden materials for landscaping around a pool. Paving or pavers are readily available as individual blocks, in a wide range of shapes, colors and sizes that can be laid in several pattern configurations. You can also buy specialist kits, such as circles, for patios. 

Mostly made from pre-cast concrete or reconstituted stone, pavers can also be used for garden paths, terraces, steps and patios. They are also ideal for adding a large expanse in the same color/material. A matching path and patio area can be used to lead the eye through the garden or to an adjacent pool house. 

What's more, pavers are mostly affordable, readily available and fairly straightforward to lay. Small pavers can be teased into curves, tight corners and organic shapes, and there are a good selection of edgings and borders available to complete the look. 

Be aware that large pavers will need cutting. Tailor your design to limit the number of cuts at planning stage, and hire a slab and walling block splitter to ensure a neat job.

Landscaping Ideas for Pool Areas

By

Lisa Hallett Taylor

Lisa Hallett Taylor

Lisa Hallett Taylor is an expert in architecture and landscape design who has written more than 1,000 articles about pool, patio, garden, and home improvement over 12 years. She has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Design and is certified in fine and decorative arts appraisal.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 02/08/22

Reviewed by

Kathleen Miller

Reviewed by Kathleen Miller

Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and Horticulturist who shares her knowledge of sustainable living, organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column.  She has over 30 years of experience in gardening and sustainable farming.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

Jeremy Samuelson / Image Bank / Getty Images

Now that you have a pool, turn it into a luxurious oasis by surrounding it with luscious plants. But, you'll want to carefully choose the plants that will go near a swimming pool or hot tub. Something that is attractive at 2 feet tall can grow quickly and drop leaves and debris into your pool in just a couple of years. Research the best plants, shrubs, trees, and ornamentals that will survive and even thrive when planted close to a pool full of splashing chlorinated or saltwater. Whether you are choosing plants for privacy or ornamentation, there are three main considerations when choosing plantings for your pool area:

Here are 16 plant selections for landscaping your pool that will bring color, texture, and scent to your backyard.

ideas for a plot with a photo

Landscaping of a suburban area

Country chores are not only gardening, but also creating a cozy corner for a relaxing holiday. You can come up with a site design yourself or use ideas from photographs and your site will look spectacular and be used conveniently, given its zoning.

Functional areas of the garden plot

Zoning means that the area of ​​the land plot is divided into 9 zones0010 , each of which has its own functional load :

  • front door : people enter here or cars enter, no more than 6% of the total area;
  • recreation area : 10 to 14% of the total area;
  • household : includes garage, greenhouses, etc. ;
  • play area : place for children's entertainment;
  • horticultural : up to 75%;

Some zones are combined into one space, saving space.

Basic principles of landscape design

Landscaping transforms any suburban area into a cozy and unique world . However, when working, it is not enough to be guided by flair and intuition. In order for the result to please you and surprise your neighbors, we recommend that you take into account the basic principles on which landscaping is based:

    1. Integrity . Provides for the presence of several identical elements in different parts of a suburban summer cottage. They can be decorative or natural. In order to more clearly see the picture as a whole, they draw up a plan in which the theme of the composition is defined. With it, it is easier to place elements of landscape design in unity and harmony.
    2. Simplicity . A heap of elements or the creation of complex structures leads a person away from nature. It is the natural tone of the suburban area that is attractive. The variegation of color also tires the eye, it is better to stop at two or three colors and play on their shades.
    3. Principle of balance , symmetrical and asymmetrical. With a symmetrical balance, the same elements are mirrored in relation to a visually defined point. Asymmetric balance permits form and color in their diversity, but with harmony in their application.
    4. Plants must be matched.
    5. The smoothness of the transition plays a huge role: from low in the foreground to high in the background. This creates the effect of the depth of the landscape.

Landscaping styles

For a site to look its best and be a comfortable place to live, it must feel the style. It does not depend on the high cost of the elements or the amount of money invested. It consists of tasteful components , as well as harmony and unity of their combination . Therefore, it is so important to familiarize yourself with the styles that use the landscape design of a country house.

Classic

The classic or regular style is characterized by the geometrically defined layout . It is characterized by symmetry with respect to straight alleys, clear forms of flower beds and lawns, paved paths, and ponds. A fountain is often located in the center of the composition. Plenty of open space, placement of topiary plants combined with natural stone. Garden arbors are designed in a classic form. Color palette in discreet pastel colors: white, beige, sand, light terracotta.

Antique sculptures, arches, stone balls, forged pergolas can be found in the alleys or in the corners of the garden.

Water structures: ponds, fountains, pools

Water bodies are a real decoration of the garden, especially if the site is located on the banks of a river or lake. A small pond will add attractiveness and enliven the landscape. They can perform a purely decorative function or serve as a source for watering or breeding fish, for example. This is important to determine before the reservoir will be equipped.

Fence

The design of the fence, like other elements of the landscape, is chosen in accordance with the facade of the house. It can be a dense wall that performs the task of protection from prying eyes. Or it will be a light fence that defines the boundaries of the site. Or weaving plants on a mesh fence. In the most urban fence, you can introduce live flower inserts and thereby refresh the territory.

Paths: principle of location and shape

Paths perform many functions: they allow you to move around the site regardless of the weather, decorate the site and are its natural dividers when zoning. Paths are entrance, connecting the house and extensions, walking, between the beds. Garden paths by type of masonry are soft and hard.

There are requirements for any track. One of them - the distance between its individual elements should be the smallest possible. The width should be traditionally 1-1.5 m for the main ones and up to one and a half meters for small walking ones. The material for the tracks is selected according to the principle of harmony with the image of the entire site.

Tracks are divided into solid and non-solid. The choice of species is influenced by the size of the site and, consequently, the length of the path and its purpose.

Our company MultiTsvet offers a comprehensive landscaping made in a single color style: paths using the "Stone Carpet" technology or bulk paths made of decorative granite rubble, flowerpots large and small, flower pots, fences for trees and shrubs, ready-made fences for flower beds.

Decoration of flowerbeds and flower beds

Flowerbeds of various shapes and sizes will become a spectacular decoration of the site. Let's look at the types of flower beds:

  • regular: flower beds with plants that bloom at the same time, arranged in a pattern;
  • irregular: bloom all warm season;
  • raised: placed on the structure;
  • vertical: placed on walls or buildings;
  • carpets;
  • mono-flowers.

Uneven terrain

Difficult areas like this can be a godsend for decoration. Pronounced relief or height difference can become a spectacular decoration of the garden. Partially, the relief can be saved, partially transformed to accommodate functional areas. It can be used in zoning, and the creation of terraces will allow you to use the available space as rationally as possible.

Lighting

Proper lighting will make the site safe and beautiful at night. Therefore, it is divided into utilitarian and decorative. With its help, a special atmosphere is created in the garden, due to the play of light and shadows, whimsical images arise. Highlighting individual elements, such as a bush or a figurine, gives an additional emphasis on them. It is important that all corners of the site are visible at night.

Garden figurines

Garden figurines can be used as supports for vases, if they are columns, or as lighting for the area, if it is a gnome with a flashlight. A place where grass does not grow can be hidden behind a mushroom family. Figurines enliven the garden and add originality to it. Their main functions in landscape design are:

accentuation of the key points of the composition;
creates a seamless look, which is especially good for large areas.

Dry stream in landscape design

The absence of a living stream in the garden is not a problem. The landscape design of the garden plot allows you to create a dry stream. With the help of various stones, a dried-up river bed is imitated, or with the help of decorative colored gravel, the stream itself is imitated, and it seems that as soon as it rains, the stream will come to life again. This decor does not require maintenance and is an excellent drainage.

A dry stream is one of the most effective and at the same time simple elements of landscape design. It serves as an excellent decoration of the local area, visually increases the area and masks small defects in the relief. This is the best option for families with young children, since dry streams are absolutely safe (unlike water bodies). It is easy to make it yourself, because the many available photos will prompt your idea.

Landscape design of the courtyard of a private house

Limited space is not a sentence, but an extra reason to be resourceful. Get acquainted with the best design ideas and choose the most suitable ones!

Landscaping of a country house

The garden plot of a country house can be both spacious and very modest in size. But we offer ideas for a territory of any size!

And some more photos of landscape design and decorative elements:

Source: https://www.onduline.ru/blog/landshaftnyj-dizajn-foto-idei-dlya-uchastka

120 photos of site design, tips for beginners, for a country house, summer cottage and garden plot, unusual options, the best ideas

Reviewed by: Terrari Design School

Previously, few people were engaged in the improvement of a country house, a summer residence, since everyone had enough of a vegetable garden, a well, a column for extracting water, a cozy place to relax. Some laid paths from tiled or concrete slabs to move comfortably in bad weather.

But now landscape design projects have become popular. The owners of the land tend to copy a good version created by the master of this craft or create their own based on personal preferences.

Some manage to take a part from one work, another, a third and form a unique version.

Review content

  • Creating a plan
  • Transferring the plan to the plot
  • How to arrange a small garden neatly?
  • Zoning
  • Adding a pool
  • Fence
  • Landscaping photo

Creating a plan

Let's start with the fact that high-quality landscape design of a house is impossible without a plan for future work. It all depends on the scale of the idea. Sometimes it is enough to mentally draw up several stages and then implement the plan.

But, if the scope of the project is too large, then it is worth using computer simulation. Thanks to special programs, you can only express your own imagination in the form of a monitor picture with a mouse. The most advanced helpers are:

  • Sierra Land Designer 3D 7.0;
  • Realtime Landscaping Architect.

In the absence of sufficient computer skills, a plan for the upcoming work can be drawn on paper or cut out various parts from a landscape design photo from a magazine, the Internet, so that there is a good example.

As a last resort, a list of upcoming actions aimed at improving the space surrounding the house can be written down as a list on paper. Any of these approaches will help you see the big picture and remember what needs to be done to achieve the goal.

Move the plan to plot

To visually understand how the design of the site will look, you should use marks in the form of a peg, rope, lines on the ground or a mound of lime, sand, chalk.

Work should start with decorative ornaments. To do this, you can use old things, damaged car tires, rotten wooden carts, outdated barrels, broken furniture, shells of buckets or basins.

These items are suitable for improving the design of the garden. But before use, they need to be revived: restored, decorated and painted.

Created containers can be planted with charming annual flowers:

  • marigolds
  • petunia
  • calendula,
  • nasturtium.

How to arrange a small garden neatly?

We have harmoniously come to this moment. We started with crafts for flowers, but that's not all, thanks to which you can improve the design of the garden. It is very good that it is not big, because you do not have to work hard and spend personal time to maintain it in good condition. It doesn't cost much to get the job done.

But what is garden design based on? First of all, these are beautifully planted trees. How to do it:

  • The space under the trees can be mulched. For this, crushed stone, decorative pebbles are used;
  • Decorative bushes of lilacs, olives, oranges are added for beauty. The main thing is that they do not take up much space, but ensure the attractiveness of the garden;
  • Trees should be planted along the perimeter of the garden area to save space for mounting a hammock, gazebo, benches, table, Japanese rock garden, fish pond or fountain.

Zoning

To create functional areas, you can use small fences, a vineyard, the main thing is to look natural and at ease. What to highlight:

  • Front part. Guests can enter or pass through this area. For arrangement it is worth using no more than 6% of the total area.
  • Recreation area. Enough 10-14% for high-quality arrangement.
  • Economic territory. The buildings of this zone should be hidden from view, because they are not beautiful, but very necessary for the owners of the house. Usually it is a garage, a greenhouse, a barn for chickens, ducks, cows, bulls, pigs. But it is not necessary to contain the entire list of animals. Some even give up livestock altogether.
  • Play area. On its territory, conditions are created for the entertainment of children.
  • Garden and garden. For most summer residents, this is the primary reason for acquiring or building a country house. Usually takes 60-75%.

To save space, some landscape design styles allow zones to merge. Thus, a multifunctional zoning is formed that includes two or more purposes. But this must be done reasonably, taking into account the requirements of all family members.

Add a pool

Modern landscaping of the yard must include a swimming pool. But usually everything depends on the solid costs of its construction. Therefore, it is worth choosing a cheap option based on a frame model or a version with a cup made of composite material connected to a terrace.

It is easy to arrange a so-called "patio" near the pool. This is a place with soft sofas based on the English style, armchairs, a coffee table to organize an unforgettable breakfast, lunch or dinner for family members or guests.

This area is easily upgraded with an umbrella or a folding canopy. The shade will allow you to spend the whole day reading a book outdoors, as well as monitor the safety of children's games.

Fence

Even the most well-groomed yard can be spoiled by a huge steel heap serving as a fence. It will attract a lot of attention, and the owners will be considered closed and unpleasant neighbors.

It is worth comparing the design of the fence with the house and other elements of the yard. In some cases, the use of a high solid fence is justified, for example in an area with a bad crime reputation.

But it is easier to design a decorative fence used to highlight the limits of one's own property. In such a fence, weaving plants or live flower inserts based on planters can be included.

Learn more