In the scorching days of summertime, one of the best ways to beat the heat is to dive into the pool, should you be fortunate enough to own one. However, many pool owners don’t just use the pool as an area to cool off and unwind , they are also using it as the foundation of their backyard landscape plan. To many, a backyard with a swimming pool develops into a haven where they can break away from the chaos of the day, and simply relax. To others, it is a place used to treat family and colleagues. Either way, your yard isn’t going to be finished until the area near the pool has been properly landscaped.

Things to Think About Before Devising a Design Plan for Landscaping Close To a Swimming Pool

There are some things to consider prior to devising a backyard landscape scheme. These include, but aren’t limited to, climatic zone, size of the yard, present landscape, privacy, beauty, accessibility, and most significant, your finances. Moreover, if you’re landscaping close to a swimming pool that has already been installed, you’re going to be slightly more limited in the number of possibilities that are open to you. For new pool installations, the possibilities are almost limitless and restricted by only funds and any building code restrictions that have to be adhered to. If you have the finances for it, it is best to hire a landscape designer. A local landscape designer ought to be familiar with building code restrictions, material cost, and area weather considerations.

Fashionable Swimming Pool Landscaping Features

Swimming Pool Coping and Deck

If you are planning your backyard landscape around an existing pool, this will probably not be a concern since in ground pools are generally initially constructed with these elements. For initial installations, the choice of the coping and deck will probably be the most vital choice that has to be made. Swimming pool coping is the border or trim that is put in about the perimeter of the pool. There are mainly four kinds of coping to select from. Rolled edge coping generally consists of brick, pavers or concrete and is smooth with a rolled up inner rim. Cantilevered coping is a modern variety that extends the decking past the edge of the pool and down the wall creating an L-shape which makes the decking look thicker than it actually is. Bull-nosed coping is fashioned from cast-concrete, stone, or cast-stone and is level on top with a curved interior edge. Finally, rough cut coping is made of flat stones that give the pool a more natural and jagged look. It is most generally used in combination with rock waterfalls or other types of rock configurations. The swimming pool deck is the section adjoining the pool that is generally made from concrete, wood, pavers, stone, or tile. Consider using natural stone coping and decking or concrete pavers that match the accents on your house. Make safety a high priority and reason through practicalities. Choose a decking material and color that will not be too hot to stand on in the sun or too slick when wet. Similarly, consider any future maintenance needs of the decking material. For example, wood decking will require being retreated every 5 to 7 years.

Water Features

There is no better means to increase the tranquility of your backyard paradise than by the addition of a trendy water feature. Water features come in a great variety with the most common being fountains and waterfalls. Cascading rock waterfalls, waterfalls from adjacent spas, waterfalls from slides, and sheer waterfalls dropping from retaining walls provide a visually thrilling spectacle. Water sprays from vertical fountains and laminar jets are growing in popularity as well. The rapidest growing trend currently in regard to pool features is the addition of fiber-optic lights. Fiber-optic lighting is not only being installed in the walls of the swimming pool, but is also being utilized to show off the water features cited above. A large number of lighting kits include a remote control and color wheel which allows the pool owner to vary the color of the lights.

Plants and Flowerpots

No pool landscaping design would be complete without adding plants, shrubs and trees. Planters range from simple flower containers, planters built into the patio, planting beds incorporated in a retaining wall, planters integrated into rock features, and the most familiar, a planting bed that frames all, or segments of the patio. Go to the area garden center to locate varieties of foliage that are specialized to your planting zone. Concerns include the amount of sunlight the plant will get in respect to the place you aim to plant it, its distance from the pool, and the backyard color strategy. Chlorine can be harmful to foliage, hence, if the pool uses chlorine, you will want to move the foliage far enough away from the swimming pool so that they aren’t affected by splashing water. The root system of the plant is an additional important issue if you plan on planting it next to the swimming pool. Be certain not to plant trees with bigger root structures too close to the swimming pool. Lastly, you’ll want to find out if the plant loses its flowers or leaves. If it does, you’ll either want to pass up on using it, or move it at a distance from the swimming pool to make sure that the flowers and leaves don’t end up in the pool. Plant life, shrubs and trees that drop their flowers or leaves not only require increased cleanups, but may harm the pool pump or plug up the pools water system.

If all these alternatives look a little overwhelming, you are not alone. The best advice is to look at pictures of existing pool landscapes to find the design and preferences that you like. You can locate them on websites that retail pools, as well as in their business magazines and fliers. The most important thing you ought to do is put together a comprehensive plan before commencing with your landscaping endeavor. If you do that, you are guaranteed to come up with a sound, low care, trouble-free pool landscape that will transform the backyard into your own secluded utopia.