Popular Backyard Pool Landscaping Designs

During the scorching days of summertime, one of the most effective ways to overcome the heat is to jump into the swimming pool, should you be lucky enough to own one. But, most pool owners aren’t simply using the pool as a spot to chill and wind down, they also use it as the key feature in their backyard landscaping plans. To the majority, a garden with a swimming pool turns into a haven where an individual can get away from the hustle and bustle of the day, and totally take it easy. To others, it is an area used to accommodate family and colleagues. Either way, the backyard is not going to be complete until the area around the pool has been suitably landscaped.

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

There are a number of features to think about before formulating a backyard landscape proposal. These include, but are not limited to, climatic zone, size of the area, existing design, privacy, beauty, accessibility, and most important, your finances. Moreover, if you are landscaping near an existing pool, you’re going to be slightly more limited in the number of possibilities that are open to you. For new pool systems, the possibilities are virtually endless and limited by just budget and any building code restrictions that must be followed. If you have the budget for it, it is advantageous to hire a landscape designer. An area landscape designer should already be familiar with building code restrictions, material expenses, and regional climatic zone concerns.

Swimming Pool Coping and Deck

If you are designing your backyard landscape around an existing pool, this will probably not be a consideration because in ground pools are usually originally installed with these elements. For initial installations, the selection of the coping and deck will probably be the most critical choice that has to be reached. Swimming pool coping is the edging 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 commonly consists of brick, pavers or concrete and is smooth with a rolled up interior edge. Cantilevered coping is a modern style that lengthens the decking past the edge of the pool and down the wall making an L-shape which makes the decking seam thicker than it actually is. Bull-nosed coping is made from cast-concrete, stone, or cast-stone and is flush on top with a curved interior border. Lastly, rough cut coping is comprised of flat stones that give the pool a more natural and jagged appearance. It is most generally utilized in combination with rock waterfalls or other forms of rock structures. The pool deck is the section encircling the pool that is often formed from concrete, wood, pavers, stone, or tile. Think about adding natural stone coping and decking or concrete pavers that match the accents on the home. Make safety a topmost priority and reason through practicalities. Select a decking material and color that won’t be too hot to go on in the sun or too slick when wet. Also, think about any future upkeep requirements of the decking material. For instance, wood decking will require being retreated every 5 to 7 years.

Water Features

There is no finer means to increase the peacefulness of your backyard haven than by adding a trendy water feature. Water features come in a very large assortment with the most popular being fountains and waterfalls. Cascading rock waterfalls, waterfalls from attached spas, waterfalls from slides, and sheer waterfalls dropping from retaining walls offer a visually exhilarating display. Water sprays from vertical fountains and laminar jets are gaining in popularity too. The rapidest growing thing now in respect to pool frills is the inclusion of fiber-optic lights. Fiber-optic lighting is not only being built into the sides of the pool, but is also being utilized to augment the water features referenced previously. Many lighting kits include a remote control and color wheel that allows the pool owner to change the color of the lights.

Plants and Planting Beds

No pool landscaping proposal would be complete without the addition of plants, shrubs and trees. Planters extend from plain flower containers, outdoor urns, planters installed in the patio, retaining wall planters, flower beds built into rock elements, and the most popular, a planting bed that borders all, or portions of the patio. Call the community nursery to find varieties of foliage that are specific to your planting zone. Concerns include the amount of sunshine the plant will have in respect to the area you propose to plant it, its distance from the pool, and the backyard color strategy. Chlorine can be toxic to plants, consequently, if the pool utilizes chlorine, you will need to move the plants far enough away from the pool so that they can’t be touched by spattering water. The root structure of the plant is an additional important issue if you anticipate positioning it next to the pool. Be certain not to plant trees with larger root systems too close to the pool. Lastly, you will want to find out if the plant loses its flowers or leaves. If it does, you will either want to steer clear from using it, or move it far enough away from the pool to make sure that the flowers and leaves don’t get in the pool. Plants, shrubs and trees that lose their flowers or leaves not only necessitate more maintenance, but can harm the pool pump or clog the pools water system.

If all these options seem a bit overwhelming, you’re not alone. The soundest advice is to view pictures of existing pool landscapes to find the design and preferences that you want. You can find them on websites that market pools, and in their business publications and brochures. The most important thing you ought to do is construct a thorough 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 convert the backyard into your own private heaven.