In the dog days of summertime, one of the best ways to overcome the heat is to take a dip in the pool, should you be blessed enough to have one. However, the majority of pool owners don’t just use the pool as a spot to cool off and wind down, they are also using it as the main attraction of their backyard landscape plan. To many, a yard with a swimming pool develops into a sanctuary where one can get away from the turmoil of the day, and truly take it easy. To others, it is a spot used to treat relatives and acquaintances. Either way, the yard is not going to be finished until the area surrounding the pool has been appropriately landscaped.
Aspects to Think About Prior to Preparing a Design Plan for Landscaping Close To a Swimming Pool
There are a number of factors to consider before formulating a backyard landscape design. These take into account, but aren’t limited to, typical weather, dimensions of the area, present design, privacy, beauty, convenience, and most crucial, your budget. Also, if you are landscaping around a swimming pool that has already been installed, you’re going to be a bit more restricted in the number of options that are available to you. For new pool systems, the possibilities are practically limitless and limited by just finances and any building code restrictions that must be followed. If you have the finances 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 area climatic zone considerations.
Fashionable Swimming Pool Landscaping Components
Swimming Pool Coping and Deck
If you are planning your backyard landscape around an existing swimming pool, this will probably not be a concern because in ground pools are usually initially constructed with these components. For initial installations, the selection of the coping and deck may perhaps be the most important choice that has to be reached. Swimming pool coping is the border or trim that is fitted about the perimeter of the pool. There are essentially four types of coping to pick from. Rolled edge coping generally consists of brick, pavers or concrete and is smooth with a rolled up inside lip. Cantilevered coping is a contemporary style that lengthens the decking past the rim of the pool and down the side forming an L-shape which makes the decking seam broader than it truly is. Bull-nosed coping is built from cast-concrete, stone, or cast-stone and is flat on top with a curved interior border. Lastly, rough cut coping is made of flat stones that give the pool a more natural and uneven look. It is most frequently used in conjunction with rock waterfalls or other styles of rock structures. The pool deck is the section bordering the pool that is often constructed from concrete, wood, pavers, stone, or tile. Consider using natural stone coping and decking or concrete pavers that harmonize with the features on your house. Make safety a main priority and think through practicalities. Choose a decking material and color that won’t be too hot to walk on in the sun or too slippery when wet. Similarly, think about any future maintenance needs of the decking material. For instance, wood decking will have to be retreated every 5 to 7 years.
Water Features
There is no better means to increase the tranquility of your backyard utopia than by including a fashionable water feature. Water features come in an extensive range with the most popular being fountains and waterfalls. Landscape waterfalls such as cascading rock waterfalls, waterfalls from bordering spas, waterfalls from slides, and sheer waterfalls dropping from retaining walls offer a visually thrilling display. Water sprays from vertical fountains and laminar jets are growing in popularity as well. The quickest growing style today in respect to swimming pool accessories is the inclusion of fiber-optic lights. Fiber-optic lighting is not only being put in the walls of the pool, but is similarly being utilized to showcase the water features cited previously. Most lighting kits include a remote control and color wheel that allows the pool owner to switch the color of the lighting.
Plants and Flowerpots
No pool landscaping design would be complete without the addition of plants, shrubs and trees. Planters vary from modest flower pots, planters installed in the deck, planting beds incorporated into a retaining wall, planting beds incorporated into rock structures, and the most popular, a planting bed that borders all, or sections of the patio. Visit your local nursery to find kinds of vegetation that are specialized to your planting zone. Considerations include the amount of sunlight the plant will receive in regard to where you aim to plant it, its distance from the pool, and your backyard color strategy. Chlorine can be toxic to foliage, so, if the pool uses chlorine, you will want to move the plants far enough away from the swimming pool so that they cannot be touched by spattering water. The root system of the plant is one more important consideration if you anticipate placing it next to the swimming pool. Be sure not to plant trees with larger root structures too close to the swimming pool. Finally, you’ll want to know if the plant drops its flowers or leaves. If it does, you will either want to pass up on using it, or plant it far enough away from the swimming pool to make sure that the flowers and leaves don’t wind up in the pool. Plants, bushes and trees that lose their flowers or leaves not only need more cleanings, but may harm the pool pump or block the pools pipes.
If all these options seem a little overwhelming, you’re not alone. The best advice is to look at images of existing pool landscapes to locate the style and preferences that you like. You can locate them on websites that have swimming pools, and in their trade publications and brochures. The most important thing you should do is design a comprehensive plan prior to commencing with your landscaping endeavor. If you do that, you are guaranteed to make a safe, low maintenance, trouble-free pool landscape that will transform the yard into your own remote heaven.