The swimming pool is a feature that allows you to cool off at any time, especially during the hot seasons of the year. Since you'll likely spend long moments there, it would be a great idea to create a landscape around it.
By doing so, you'll not only enhance your little slice of paradise but also enjoy a beautiful view during your swimming sessions. To successfully design a landscape around your pool, here are the steps you should take.
Opt for a Beach Near Your Pool
The transition area between the pool and the garden, the beach is the part generally used by bathers to enjoy the sun's rays. If you want to take full advantage of it, it needs to be spacious, as it's likely you'll spend more time there than anywhere else.
Furthermore, it is recommended that the beach is wider on the side where the water is accessed via the pool steps. This way, you'll break up the overly strict geometric shape of the pool. To perfect the landscaping of this area, you should:
- Install an array of brightly colored lounge chairs, an umbrella or a pergola for shade. It would also be nice to have a few garden benches.
- Plan for a lovely garden furniture set to replace part of the pool furniture. Thus, in the evening, you could dine by the water, on your terrace around the pool.
- Install flower pots, planters, and shrubs . As they grow larger, the plants will soften the geometric strictness of the pool and protect you from the neighbors' view.
The beach is a true asset for decorating and arranging the edges of your pool area, take advantage of it.
Choose Natural Materials for the Flooring Near Your Pool
When decorating the floor near your pool, you have the option to choose from any colors that interest you. However, when selecting your coverings, you must ensure they are non-slip. Moreover, they should not freeze and should be resistant to bad weather.
Tile
Available in several shapes, sizes, and colors, tile is a natural material that suits any pool style: classic, contemporary, or design . For your own safety and that of your loved ones, choose a non-slip tile classified R11 or PC20.
This material allows you to move around safely, whether the ground is wet or not. If your pool is close to the house, it is preferable that the beach's covering continues from the living space. The tile should also match the color of the facade.
The Wooden Deck, Simple, Exotic, or Composite
Offering a wide range of colors and prices, natural wood integrates into the garden effortlessly and dries quickly. Naturally non-slip , wood slats prevent water from stagnating. For a poolside corner, choose rot-resistant exotic woods like teak and ipe. These wood boards require little maintenance and become even more beautiful as they age.
Furthermore, you can opt for treated Scots pine, which has been treated against rot and parasites. In reality, this wood is cheaper and doesn't worsen upon water contact. Plus, on a concrete floor, it is easily laid on joists. However, on an uneven ground, its construction can be more complicated.
Composite wood is also an excellent ecological alternative to natural wood. It is very sturdy and durable. Additionally, it is resistant to both frost and insects. Slipping risks are minimal on a composite wood deck.
Natural or Reconstituted Stone Slabs
Being a natural, robust, and durable material, stone adapts to almost all decor styles. Around the pool, you can choose a regular or irregular pattern. It's advised against selecting too white slabs, as they dazzle in summer and get dirty quickly. Don’t choose too dark natural stone slabs either, as they heat up under the sun.
For a more modern design, opt for natural stone, as it enhances the aesthetic of your pool landscape and is easy to maintain. Reconstituted stone slabs could cover your pool beach. Easy to maintain, these mimic classic natural stone pavements. They can be easily laid with dual bonding, both on the ground and on the slabs.
Concrete
The main advantages of this covering are its high resistance and coolness. If you desire a simple and purified style, use concrete for your terrace paving. Its only downside is its high cost, which keeps increasing due to installation difficulty that requires a specialist .
The Best Green Space Ideas Around Your Pool
As part of arranging the space available around your pool, whether it's fully inground or semi-inground pool, you need to create green spaces. These should be adapted to the seasons' changes in your region. Here are some suggestions you can get inspired by for your landscaping decoration.
Succulent and Cactus Plants
There is a variety of succulent plants without spines that are increasingly popular. Their leaves are evergreen and resistant to the seasons' passage. They integrate well with more flowering plantations. There is a wide range of succulents and cacti ( Aeonium, Agave attenuata, Aptenia cordifolia, Cotyledon, Crassula, etc.) available in all colors and sculptural forms.
Grasses and Ornamental Grasses
Requiring little maintenance, ornamental grasses are visually striking when placed near a pool. There are several types of classic lawn grasses like bamboo, rushes or sedges. You can install green foxtail, blue fescue, fountain grass , zebra grass, etc.
Tropical Plants
If the weather conditions of your country allow, you can bring your tropical pool space to life by adding palms , birds of paradise (Strelitzia), elephant ears, hibiscus or papyrus.
Fragrant Plants
Creating green spaces also requires certain plants that naturally release a natural scent no artificial fragrance can match. You can place them near the pool, the patio or along a pathway. Fragrant plants include lavender, roses, jasmine, laurel, lemongrass, rosemary, thyme, and others.
Lawn and Turf
Installing a lawn and turf is a personal choice. In reality, when close to water, they risk soiling the pool due to repeated mowing. Depending on the climate and your soil type, you can favor synthetic grass. There also exists ryegrass, fescue, and bluegrass.
The Best Practical Arrangements Near the Pool
In summer, pools are not just swimming areas. Indeed, they are more of living spaces where you can enjoy your favorite dishes, read your favorite books, relax or have a good time with your loved ones over a drink. Thus, here are the arrangements and coverings to plan around the pool.
An Outdoor Summer Kitchen
If you're handy, you won't have any difficulty building a sheltered kitchen corner near your pool. Plan for a water point like a sink and a large worktop. The integrated barbecue or the plancha is among the essentials that must feature in your outdoor summer kitchen. For the decor, favor materials like tiles, wood, or stone considering the rest of the landscape.
A Pool House
This arrangement often enables installing the pool's pump and the water filtration and treatment system away from bad weather. However, the pool house for the pool can also serve for storing all the accessories.
This installation can be built in block or wood. Since pool furniture and water games take up a lot of space, it's essential to plan space for: lounges, sunbeds, umbrellas, inflatable pools floats', cushions, etc.
You want to complete your collection of giant pool floats? Discover the trendiest models below:
A Solar Shower
This arrangement is practical for furnishing your garden and for rinsing the salt and chlorine that was caught on your skin after your exit from the pool water. Preferably, the outdoor shower should be of a dark-toned metal so the water heats faster. Plus, it must have a capacity of at least 30 liters . Install your shower in a corner of the beach and preferably sheltered from the wind. If you're worried about nosy neighbors, you can use a movable screen.
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A Privacy Screen or Hedge to Limit Views
Easy to install, a privacy screen not only protects you from the wind but also shields you from the view of neighbors. Additionally, it can be used to separate the pool area from the rest of the garden without creating a fully enclosed space. There are countless designs and combinations to create stunning compositions, such as trellis dividers or semi-circular panels. You can even decorate your privacy screen with climbing plants.
Moreover, to ensure peace and privacy from the curious eyes of passersby or neighbors, you can use plants to create a hedge. For landscaping success around your pool, bamboo makes an excellent privacy screen. It can hide you from view or conceal an unattractive landscape. To prevent issues, use a root barrier when planting bamboo.
If bamboo isn’t suitable, you can opt for tall grasses, a natural option that is low-profile yet effective at shielding you from prying eyes. Climbing star jasmine is another excellent choice for forming a natural hedge. There are many varieties of climbing star jasmine that are both beautiful and fragrant.
Mistakes to Avoid When Landscaping Around Your Pool
For a perfect landscape design around your pool, certain mistakes must be avoided.
Not Considering the Overall Harmony of Your Garden
Landscaping around a pool isn't about cluttering the area with a random assortment of elements. Everything in your garden should be harmonious. The color of the pool deck should match the furniture and walls. Moreover, just because the garden is outdoors doesn’t mean its decor should clash with your home’s interior design.
To maintain harmony, avoid haphazard arrangements. For a visually appealing result, prioritize balance between all elements surrounding the pool.
Choosing Plants or Materials That Require Excessive Maintenance
Avoid planting or keeping certain types of vegetation near your pool. Trees that shed a lot of leaves, seeds, or bark can litter your pool and require frequent cleaning. Likewise, fruit trees can attract unpleasant flying insects, dirty pool areas, and clog filtration systems.
Certain flowering plants, thorny bushes, invasive-rooted species, or water-thirsty plants should also be avoided near the pool. These plants often require regular watering, attract insects, pose injury risks, or damage pool shells and decks.
For instance, thirsty plants may pierce the pool liner to access water. Beyond vegetation, avoid furnishing the pool area with heavy or high-maintenance furniture.
