Landscaping Around Your Pool and Spa

The middle of winter might not seem like the best time to be thinking about how you can improve the area around your pool and spa. Making plans now, however, will help you forget the winter chills and make sure that you are all prepared when the warm weather returns.

Using Landscaping to Improve Your Pool and Spa

Most people want look for the following qualities for the area around their swimming pool and spa:

• privacy
• safety
• comfort
• visual appeal

All of these can be achieved or improved through careful landscaping and planting to ensure your outdoor pool becomes a secluded getaway.

Privacy

A wall or fence will give you the privacy you need around your pool and spa, but you could try using plants instead. The right choice of trees or shrubs could serve a double purpose of screening the area while providing attractive foliage or flowers.

Safety

Installing fencing around your pool is essential (and may be a legal requirement in some states like Arizona and Florida) to prevent children, animals, and anyone who can't swim from falling into the water by accident. It should be around six feet high to be really effective, so you won't be expected to erect right at the pool edge. Such a large feature, however, will need careful placing. You could put it at the garden perimeter to mark your garden off from your neighbour's, or it could be positioned to provide shelter from the sun or wind.

Comfort

You want the areas around your pool and spa to be comfortable so that you will enjoy using them. Choose decking or paving that is kind to bare feet, as well as being safe to walk on. Make sure you have some good level spots for lounging in the sun, having drinks, or entertaining friends.

Visual Appeal

You don't need to make your pool and spa complex a replica of your house, but do try to choose materials that harmonise in style and scale with existing buildings on the site as this will improve the overall appearance of your property.