Incorporating plants around your pool area can significantly enhance its overall appeal, creating an inviting, lush, and serene environment. Apart from their aesthetic value, plants offer practical benefits such as providing shade, privacy, and a natural windbreak. They help to soften the harsh lines of pool equipment, and certain types can even add a delightful fragrance to the area. Significantly, plants can also act as a natural filter, reducing pool contaminants and improving the quality of the surrounding air. Therefore, a well-considered selection of poolside plants can dramatically enrich your swimming and lounging experience, transforming your pool area into an enchanting oasis. Here are some plants to consider for your pool side:
Golden Cane Palm (Dypsis lutescens): This tropical plant is a popular choice for poolside settings. It is durable, low maintenance, and provides excellent shade.
Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae): Famous for its exotic, colourful flowers, this plant adds a dramatic touch to any pool landscape. It thrives in sunny spots and is relatively easy to care for.
Canna Lily (Canna x generalis): With its oversized leaves and vibrant blooms, the Canna Lily is sure to make a splash in any pool area. This plant loves the sun and can withstand pool water splashes.
Agave (Agave): This desert plant is a stylish and practical addition to a poolside landscape. It’s very hardy, drought-tolerant, and has a striking sculptural form that works well in contemporary pool designs.
Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis): For a real tropical feel, you can’t go past the Hibiscus. It loves the sun, copes well with the occasional pool water splash, and its flamboyant flowers are a poolside winner.
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon): This is an excellent choice for those who want a plant that’s both beautiful and useful. It thrives in direct sunlight and offers a citrusy fragrance. What’s more, it’s known to repel mosquitoes, adding a practical benefit to its aesthetic appeal.
Bamboo (Bambusoideae): Bamboo is a versatile plant that serves various functions; it can provide privacy, act as a windbreak, or simply add a touch of exotic beauty. It’s easy to grow and can tolerate a range of conditions, although it does best in sunny, well-drained spots.
Aloe Vera (Aloe vera): Aloe vera is a practical and attractive addition to any poolside landscape. It’s a hardy, drought-tolerant plant with unique healing properties. Its thick, succulent leaves can provide a quick remedy for minor sunburns, a common occurrence around the pool.
These plants are not only visually appealing but are also capable of withstanding the challenging conditions often found poolside, such as regular splashing and high sunlight exposure.
Plants to avoid
While many plants can enhance the ambience of your poolside area, there are also several you should avoid due to various factors.
- Trees with invasive root systems, such as Willows (Salix), Poplars (Populus), and Silver Maples (Acer saccharinum), can damage pool structures and plumbing systems.
- Plants that produce excessive debris, like Cottonwoods (Populus deltoides), or those prone to dropping leaves or flowers, such as the Jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia), can make pool maintenance a hassle.
- Thorny plants like Hawthorn (Crataegus) or Roses (Rosa) can pose a safety risk to swimmers, especially children.
- Lastly, plants that are highly attractive to bees, such as Lavender (Lavandula) and Sunflowers (Helianthus), may not be desirable around the pool area due to the increased likelihood of stings.
Careful plant selection can prevent these complications, ensuring that your poolside area remains a safe, relaxing, and low-maintenance retreat.
Elevating Your Swimming Pool Experience
Beyond careful plant selection, there are numerous other ways to elevate your swimming pool experience.
Install Pool Lighting: Strategic pool lighting can create a wonderful ambiance for night swimming and can make your pool area look magical.
Add a Heating System: Adding a swimming pools brisbane heating system can extend your pool season, allowing you to enjoy a warm swim even in cooler months. Solar heaters, heat pumps, and gas heaters are all viable options.
Install a Pool Cover: A pool cover can maintain water temperature, reduce chemical consumption, and keep your pool clean, making it a practical addition.
Add Water Features: Water features such as fountains, waterfalls, or deck jets can add an element of luxury and style to your pool.
Include a Pool Slide or Diving Board: If you have kids or are the fun-loving type, a pool slide or diving board could add a new dimension of enjoyment to your swimming pool.
Incorporate Poolside Furniture: Comfortable and stylish poolside furniture can enhance relaxation and provide a space for lounging, dining, or socialising.
Fibreglass Pools and Pool Plants
When it comes to choosing the type of pool for your backyard oasis, fibreglass pools are an increasingly popular option. Characterised by their smooth finish, fibreglass pools are manufactured from a mould and then set into a pre-dug hole, making for a quick and efficient installation process.
One of the key advantages of fibreglass pools is their compatibility with pool plants. Fibreglass pools tend to have a favourable pH level that reduces the likelihood of corrosive damage to the pool surface from plant material. This means you can enjoy a lush, plant-filled landscape without worrying about harm to your pool structure.
Moreover, the non-porous surface of a fibreglass pool makes it more resistant to algae growth, so plants that prefer shaded, moist conditions can be placed closer to the pool without increasing the risk of algae issues.
However, it’s still essential to choose plant varieties that can withstand poolside conditions. The plants mentioned earlier, like the Golden Cane Palm, Bird of Paradise, or Lavender, are excellent choices for fibreglass pools. Their hardy nature can handle the poolside environment, and their aesthetic appeal beautifully complements the sleek design of fibreglass pools.
Wrapping Up Your Poolside Plant Selection
In essence, careful planning and selection are key to creating an inviting, safe, and low-maintenance poolside landscape. Choosing plants with a keen eye for their adaptability to poolside conditions, coupled with the use of practical pool enhancements, can significantly enrich your swimming pool experience. If you opt for a fibreglass pool, you can further expand your plant choice due to its favourable attributes. Remember, a well-designed pool area does more than just please the eye – it elevates the entire outdoor living experience.
