Your backyard inground pool should be an oasis for you and your family. It should provide a place of fun, relaxation, exercise, and beauty. Having your pool surrounded by attractive landscaping doesn’t just improve your pool’s appeal for visitors and guests; it can also increase your enjoyment of the pool.

If it’s time for an update to the look of your inground pool, here are some ideas to help you get started. Some of these ideas will be easy to implement with just a few tools and a trip to your local nursery or home improvement store. Others will require you to get in touch with a professional pool contractor.

Either way, these tips will help bring your pool back to life just in time for next summer’s swimming season!

Switch Up Your Pool Landscaping With New Plants

When most people think about landscaping, the first thing that comes to mind is plants. Having the right greenscape around your pool can provide all sorts of benefits:

• Tall, full-foliage plants and trees provide cooling shade in the blistering summer months.
• Soft ground covers like turfgrass and mosses provide a cushiony, cool place to walk.
• Wildflowers give off delightful aromas and provide food for vital pollinators.
• Closely spaced shrubs and full-bodied trees can provide a beautiful, natural privacy fence to keep your pool time private.

As you’re considering which plants to place around your pool, keep the following ideas and suggestions in mind:

• Choosing perennial plants over annuals will lower your annual landscaping budget since the plants don’t have to be replaced yearly.
• If you are planting trees near your pool, remember that trees that shed their leaves or needles will be shedding into the pool. Either get used to cleaning leaves out of your pool or reconsider where you’re placing trees that drop their foliage.
• You should always consider choosing native plants for your landscaping efforts. Putting in plants native to your region will lower your landscaping maintenance, and careful placement and planning can make your outdoor oasis almost maintenance-free.
• Verify with the nursery or a reliable online source about the best time to plant the species you choose for your new greenscape.

Improve Your Pool Landscaping With New Hardscaping

The plants and landforms in your yard only make up half of your pool’s “landscape.” It also includes all of the hardscaping around your pool: the pool decking or apron, pathways, and patios all contribute to the look of your pool.

Improving your hardscape can be as simple as purchasing some pavers and laying a new path from your back door to your pool or as involved as a complete renovation from a local pool contractor.

New materials and building techniques are constantly being developed to improve the look and function of poolside hardscapes, including tiles that stay cool even in the summer sun and new subbase materials that drain water more effectively to create a more durable surface.

Shed Some Light on Your New Pool Landscaping

There’s no reason to retreat from your pool just because the sun’s going down. In fact, with summer temps in Middle Georgia regularly hitting triple digits, nighttime may be the best time for a swim!

If a significant replanting or hardscape project isn’t in the budget for this year, you might be surprised how effectively you can transform your poolscape with a few inexpensive lights.

String lights are now available year-round, and with hundreds of types and colors available, you can create a classy or fun casual look with strands of lights running overhead during nighttime pool parties. If overhead lights aren’t your thing, solar-powered LED yard lights are entirely self-sufficient, need no wires, and are as easy to install as sticking a stake into the ground.

If you have any pool upgrades or hardscaping done, consider embedding LED lighting into your pool’s wall or pool apron to make your pool pop after dark.

Whatever You Choose, Make Your Pool Landscaping Your Own

No matter which route you take to spruce up your pool landscaping, remember that, above all, it’s your pool. There aren’t many places where you can indulge your interests as unapologetically as in your outdoor living space, so make sure it reflects you and your family.

Got a house full of sports fans? A pergola with a big-screen TV could mean that pool time doesn’t mean missing game time. Is food your primary love language? A large patio with a Big Green Egg and other outdoor kitchen features may be what you need. Want a quiet refuge from the insanity of the world at large? Plenty of privacy hedges and a Bullfrog Spas hot tub could be just what the doctor ordered.

Regardless of how you choose to proceed, the Mid State Pools & Spas team is always available to help. Our professionals can take your existing pool and create a beautiful renovation plan to transform it into the backyard paradise of your dreams!

Mid State Pools Can Update Your Existing Pool Landscaping! Call and Speak to One of Our Pool Experts Today – 478-953-7300

Mid State Pools and Spas builds custom pools for residential and commercial customers in:

• Warner Robins
• Macon
• Forsyth
• Perry
• Milledgeville
• Lake Oconee
• And all across Middle Georgia!