Pool Landscaping Tips - Adding Plants Inside The Pool Perimeter

By leaving a strip of land open on at least two sides of the pool landscaping can be added to enhance the beauty of the pool area. Planting ground cover can prevent erosion of the dirt away from the pool, and the type of plants will not increase the amount of leaves and branches that wind up in the water. Specific plants can also attract some insect life that might otherwise find their food from the people swimming in the water or sitting around the pool.

Some plants also serve as a deterrent to some rodents and if planted near the fence on the inside of the pool area, the pool landscaping can actually help keep them from entering the pool deck and feasting on any food dropped under a picnic table. Hanging baskets on the fence can also add color to an otherwise dull area of the home's exterior.

Pool Landscaping - Choose Plants For Their Durability

When picking out plants to inside the pool area, in addition to make sure they remain close to the ground, they should also be of a hardy variety. There is bound to be a lot of water splashed onto the deck and unless you planned for good drainage in the outlying pool landscaping areas, they could easily drown or be affected by chemicals used in the water.

Depending on the size of the pool's deck, you can also use large wood flower boxes along an edge of the fence or in the corners for the pool landscaping, adding color as well as a design that matches the rest of the house. Legs on the flower boxes will keep them from resting directly on the concrete where they could possibly cause stains or make the concrete crumble due to constantly being wet.

One caution when planning pool landscaping is make sure none of the plants will develop large root systems that can cause the concrete deck to crack or that can work their way into the underground pipes. Plants should be green with little flowering and have shallow roots that offer no danger to the integrity of the swimming pool.