In the dog days of summertime, one of the most popular methods to beat the heat is to dive into the swimming pool, if you’re lucky enough to have one. But, the majority of pool owners aren’t just using the pool as a place to cool down and unwind , they also use it as the key feature of their backyard landscape plan. To most, a yard with a swimming pool turns into a retreat where an individual can break away from the turmoil of the day, and truly chill out. To others, it is a spot used to entertain relatives and friends. Either way, the yard is not going to be finished until the area around the pool has been suitably landscaped.
Factors to Think About Prior to Devising a Design Plan for Landscaping Near a Pool
There are a few features to think about prior to preparing a backyard landscape plan. These take into account, but aren’t restricted to, typical weather, size of the area, existing design, privacy, beauty, convenience, and most significant, your finances. In addition, if you’re landscaping near a pool that has already been installed, you are going to be a bit more restricted in the number of options that are available to you. For new pool installations, the options are basically limitless and restricted by just budget and any building code restrictions that must be followed. If you have the finances for it, it is advantageous to hire a landscape designer. A local landscape designer should already be acquainted with building code restrictions, material cost, and regional climate issues.
Fashionable Swimming Pool Landscaping Elements
Swimming Pool Coping and Deck
If you’re designing your backyard landscape around an existing swimming pool, this will probably not be a consideration since in ground pools are commonly originally installed with these components. For new set-ups, the choice of the coping and deck may most likely 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 mainly four varieties of coping to choose from. Rolled edge coping usually consists of brick, pavers or concrete and is flat with a rolled up interior edge. Cantilevered coping is a contemporary design that expands the decking past the border of the pool and down the wall creating an L-shape that makes the decking appear broader than it actually is. Bull-nosed coping is fashioned from cast-concrete, stone, or cast-stone and is flat on top with a rounded inner edging. Lastly, rough cut coping is made of flat stones that give the pool a more natural and coarser look. It is most commonly used in combination with rock waterfalls or other types of rock formations. The swimming 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 complement the features on your home. Make safety a high priority and reason through practicalities. Opt for a decking material and color that won’t be too hot to go on in the sun or too slippery when damp. Similarly, take into consideration 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 way to increase the peacefulness of your backyard haven than by adding a classy water feature. Water features come in an extensive assortment with the most popular being fountains and waterfalls. Cascading rock waterfalls, waterfalls from attached spas, waterfalls from slides, and sheer waterfalls falling from retaining walls deliver a visually stimulating show. Water sprays from vertical fountains and laminar jets are gaining in popularity as well. The quickest growing trend currently in regard to pool frills is the installation of fiber-optic lights. Fiber-optic lighting is not only being installed in the walls of the pool, but is also being utilized to showcase the water features referenced above. Most lighting kits include a remote control and color wheel that allows the pool owner to change the color of the lights.
Greenery and Planting Beds
No pool landscaping scheme would be complete without the addition of flowers, bushes and trees. Planters range from modest flower pots, planters installed in the deck, flower beds integrated onto a retaining wall, planters incorporated into rock landscaping, and the most popular, a planting bed which borders the entire, or sections of the patio. Go to your area garden center to find types of foliage that are specific to your planting zone. Issues include the extent of sunlight the plant will get in respect to the area you intend to plant it, its distance from the swimming pool, and the backyard color scheme. Chlorine can be harmful to foliage, consequently, if the pool uses chlorine, you will want to keep the foliage far enough away from the swimming pool so that they aren’t distressed by splashing water. The root system of the plant is one more significant concern if you plan on planting it close to the swimming pool. Be sure not to plant trees with longer root systems too close to the swimming pool. Lastly, you’ll want to find out if the plant loses its flowers or leaves. If it does, you’ll either want to pass up on using it, or put it at a distance from the swimming pool to ensure that the flowers and leaves don’t wind up in the pool. Plants, bushes and trees that drop their flowers or leaves not only demand more cleanups, but may damage the pool pump or block the pools water system.
If all these alternatives seem a tad overwhelming, you’re not alone. The most beneficial advice is to look at images of existing pool landscapes to discover the design and preferences that you want. You can locate them on websites that retail swimming pools, and in their trade magazines and fliers. The most essential thing you ought to do is put together a thorough plan prior to starting your landscaping project. If you do that, you are certain to create a sound, low care, trouble-free pool landscape that will change the backyard into your own remote utopia.