Landscaping IDEAS for Around Inground Pools
Privacy, safety, beauty, and convenience are some of the considerations to keep in mind when landscaping around swimming pools. While discussing all of these factors below, let’s focus on choices for mess-free plants. The best plants to grow near a pool will be those that lend the area a special charm and that cause you little inconvenience.
Plants can provide beauty and – in the case of shrubs – privacy around a swimming pool.
They soften the harsh lines of pool equipment and help pools to blend more naturally with the surrounding environment. If you grow plants that are tall enough, they will form privacy screens around the area. But plants must be chosen wisely. Strive for low-maintenance plants. For instance, you do not want large deciduous trees around a swimming pool, as you will end up fishing all of those leaves out of the water. Even needle-bearing evergreen trees can be among the messiest trees. A good alternative is a broadleaf evergreen bush such as Hetz Japanese holly (a type that lacks prickly leaves). Avoid fruit trees: Not only are they messy, but the fruits also attract bees (and stinging bees are not a good match for all of that bare flesh that will be parading around your swimming pool). And as beautiful as flowers are, be aware that they, too, can be bee-magnets, so you are forced to make a decision (it is your call): Is it worth risking a bee sting to have a lovely flower around the pool?
Short List of Mess-Free Plants
Note that just because a plant appears on the list that follows, that does not mean that you can install it just anywhere near a pool.
Most notably, a couple of plants with thorns are included on the list, simply because they are relatively mess-free (and furnish architectural beauty). But avoid growing thorny plants in areas where you will be walking (for example, spots where you will be entering or exiting from the pool), so that you will not have to worry about getting jabbed by sharp thorns. Instead, grow them on a side of a large pool where human activity is kept at a minimum. They are not suitable for small pools (where space is at a premium).
