Deciding to landscape the area surrounding your pool can be a once-off job or a continuing project that takes you across many years. A pool is a wonderful central feature in any garden. It’s a sanctuary and surrounding it with beautiful things will only make the water look all that more appealing on a hot summer day. It’s important to remember that it’s also a hazard and your landscaping efforts have to reflect this. Respect your pool and keep its needs in mind when gardening or building around it. Follow these tips and you’ll be enjoying your pool and its surrounds without a care:

• Use what you have. You’ll have a pool pump and possibly a pool cover roller near or around your pool and incorporating this into your
• Always comply with pool fencing laws. No matter how ugly you think a fence may look, you are required, as the pool owner, to erect one. If a child were to wander in to your property (even uninvited) and drown then you would be at fault for not having adequate fencing. It’s quite a serious law but it’s not all doom and gloom. You can talk to a fencing contractor to see if they can rework your current fence into something that you feel reflects you better. The law is stringent but flexible and you should be able to come to a compromise.
• Using stone or brick tiling is always a good idea around swimming pools. Use porous rocks or bricks as the water will dry and drain quickly. Using dense stone like marble or granite may look beautiful, but once they’re wet these stones are a death trap, causing slippages at the slightest provocation. If you’re using stone for decking around the pool be sure to sandblast it regularly to dissuade moss buildup.
• If you’re using decking around your poolside area, discuss which type to use first with a pool expert. Wet wood can be extremely slippery if it’s the wrong type. You will also want treated wood that isn’t going to rot quickly due to the water it will absorb from all the splashing.
• Planting around your pool is an excellent idea. You can create your own little exclusive tropical paradise, providing a beautiful offset to the often harsh lines of swimming pools. Tall plants will offer an extra level of privacy around your pool, creating a natural barrier. Flowers are a great idea, as their smell can act as a countermeasure to the twinge of chlorine. Be sure to choose hardy plants. Palms are a good idea, as are most large plants that survive well sub-tropical climates. Planting fruit and vegetables may look neat, but they will probably become inedible due to all of the chlorine splashing going on.
• Having a plain lawn surrounding your pool is not a good idea. Grass is slippery when wet and in unlikely to survive the constant splashing of chemicals and feet. All you’ll end up with is mud in and around your pool.
• If you’re constructing a gazebo or other structure in your garden, it’s a good idea to keep it well away from the edge of the pool. Boisterous swimmers will often challenge themselves to jump off things that are close by so best not give them the opportunity.

There are only a few solid rules for landscaping around your pool and all of them have to do with your safety. The limits are few compared with the freedom you otherwise have. Go crazy, go with a theme, a full surround deck or simply go for colour and vibrancy. It’s your own personal retreat so treat it like one.

Related Guides:

• Hard Plastic Kiddie Pool
• Pool Cover Pump
• Fiberglass Pool Prices