Landscaping Around Pool

[Jonathan_B]

One area that I can't make my mind up about is what goes around the pool deck. We have a fairly large yard which is all fenced in except for right beside the house. That will probably be taken care of with some privacy fence from house to property edge. I don't believe I want to go directly from pool deck to grass, as we will assuredly get grass in the pool from mowing, weed-eating, etc. I kind of like the idea of putting a little landscaping between the deck and a short wooden fence behind the pool to break up the backyard maybe. Fence would be good to catch some light from landscape lighting as well.

Don't have the money to do much (spending all of that on the pool). Most things I tend to see on google searches are either too extravagant or not very compatible with kids. Ideas? Post some pictures of yours!

Thanks all! Loving the information on this site!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Monkey Grass! It is the most amazing thing for being able to split it and spread it all around. It needs little to no care -perhaps once a year mowing down in the early spring?? I dunno what Skippy does to ours but he's spread the stuff all over and we never buy it. It has little to no debris and it even flowers at times.

Maddie

 

[JJ_Tex]

You could do a cheap hedge row to give a buffer between the grass and decking. I'm thinking something like a Indian Hawthorn or boxwood. Leave room for annual flowers for some color too.

 

[Newdude]

Amazon.com : PAMPAS GRASS BLUE ornamental 100 seeds : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : PAMPAS GRASS BLUE ornamental 100 seeds : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

It comes in many colors. Its invasive and grows like a weed so you can split it as many times as you need. It comes in many colors but the colored ones dont survive in my agricultural zone so i have the yellow sister/cousin species that do survive. All of the seeds have bad reviews and most seem to be from china. Get the actual plants if you like the idea.

 

[jimmythegreek]

If theres 8ft plus I'd say grass. You mow it and blow off from pool area out. Any mulch sticks to wet feet and rocks are nice but collect everything like a catch all. Rubber mulch is nice but pricey

 

[Chickinvic]

Do yourself a favour and don't put grass around your pool. Uggg. We just paid a fortune getting rid of it and putting more deck surface down instead. The grass/weeds always got into the pool no matter how careful we tried to be when mowing, plus nobody wanted to walk on it and get it in the water, etc.

 

[Jonathan_B]

The consensus seems to be leaning toward a buffer zone between grass and deck. I don’t like the idea of re-mulching every year, so has anyone had luck with using river rock? Like about baseball sized?

Tall grasses and the hawthorns sound good. I could even do a couple of chairs on some pavers or a wooden bench for a little extra seating as well.

 

[Bam Bam]

India Hawthorne is deer caviar in my neck of the woods. Several nights after it was planted around the exterior of the pool fence it looked like Mortisha (Addams family) had done the gardening. The next round was camellias which are evergreen and produce pretty flowers once a year. I am pleaching them so it looks like an elevated and connected wreath around the pool fence.

You mention kids. Are you planning on completely surrounding the pool with a fence and gate with self-closing, self-latching hardware? If not, I strongly suggest considering this proven drowning prevention measure.

I have 3-5 inch egg rock in my front of the house beds that used to have box woods. I put a durable weed paper under the rocks thinking it would be maintenance free. NOT. Weeds like bugs are prolific. Certainly better than nothing but still need to pluck them out plus easier since roots don't go through the paper.

Around the pool I put pea pebble and fake grass. I believe the fake grass originated from a golf course. I purchased it an auction cheap. But not enough to surround the pool. The same routine with the pebbles - weed fabric then 3" of pebbles. Still get weeds.

If you like the grass look fake grass is worth looking into but can be costly if a lot of sq/ft. When I do my pool renovation I'm having the pebbles removed and either concrete or fake grass. Costco and sam's carry it.

I'ld love some flowers but don't like bathing with the bees.

I'll post a photo tomorrow of the egg rock. the tall plant is a hibiscus which is not evergreen, gets cut down after first frost and yields fabulous flowers generally after pool season except when it's still summer in OCtober like it is this year. I didn't realize it would get that tall but its brief blooming beauty excuses its faults.

 

[Rich D]

2-3" black Mexican beach pebbles with filter fabric below. They are a bit expensive but I have always liked the look of them. I paid $35.00 for a 75 lb bag.

 

[Berger82]

The consensus seems to be leaning toward a buffer zone between grass and deck. I don’t like the idea of re-mulching every year, so has anyone had luck with using river rock? Like about baseball sized?

Tall grasses and the hawthorns sound good. I could even do a couple of chairs on some pavers or a wooden bench for a little extra seating as well.

 

[DorsalSpine]

I like working in the yard after spending all day in an office. The concrete deck and seating area is surrounded by mulched beds. A mix of boxwoods and various perennials fill out the space. The perennials bloom at different times so we have color all year without having to mess with annual plants. The path to the pool is hardscape so very little if any mulch ends up in the pool.

 

[smracing]

2-3" black Mexican beach pebbles with filter fabric below. They are a bit expensive but I have always liked the look of them. I paid $35.00 for a 75 lb bag.

View attachment 120487View attachment 120486

We did dry riverbeds out of the beach pebbles, but they are only $100 a ton here.

 

[Chickinvic]

India Hawthorne is deer caviar in my neck of the woods. Several nights after it was planted around the exterior of the pool fence it looked like Mortisha (Addams family) had done the gardening. The next round was camellias which are evergreen and produce pretty flowers once a year. I am pleaching them so it looks like an elevated and connected wreath around the pool fence.

You mention kids. Are you planning on completely surrounding the pool with a fence and gate with self-closing, self-latching hardware? If not, I strongly suggest considering this proven drowning prevention measure.

I have 3-5 inch egg rock in my front of the house beds that used to have box woods. I put a durable weed paper under the rocks thinking it would be maintenance free. NOT. Weeds like bugs are prolific. Certainly better than nothing but still need to pluck them out plus easier since roots don't go through the paper.

Around the pool I put pea pebble and fake grass. I believe the fake grass originated from a golf course. I purchased it an auction cheap. But not enough to surround the pool. The same routine with the pebbles - weed fabric then 3" of pebbles. Still get weeds.

If you like the grass look fake grass is worth looking into but can be costly if a lot of sq/ft. When I do my pool renovation I'm having the pebbles removed and either concrete or fake grass. Costco and sam's carry it.

I'ld love some flowers but don't like bathing with the bees.

I'll post a photo tomorrow of the egg rock. the tall plant is a hibiscus which is not evergreen, gets cut down after first frost and yields fabulous flowers generally after pool season except when it's still summer in OCtober like it is this year. I didn't realize it would get that tall but its brief blooming beauty excuses its faults.

View attachment 120484

The more pictures I see of your pool, the more I love it and the surroundings. Nothing wrong with an old school pool IMO. And so cute to see the dog in there

 

[Bam Bam]

Chickinvic, If I could put it in a box I would send it to you!!! Thanks for the vote of support. Tomorrow another PB/PD will come by. Updates to come....

 

[Rich D]

We did dry riverbeds out of the beach pebbles, but they are only $100 a ton here.

Wow... I did a lot of research to try to get these at a reasonable cost. I had one outfit out your way that would ship them but even before shipping they were no where near $100 / ton. I do need about another ton to finish the job. Could you just pop those in the mail for me? ?