6 Creative Backyard Pool Landscaping Ideas

If you’re looking to make the most of your backyard, a pool is an ideal addition. It’s an elegant upgrade that will provide hours of delight and cool relief for you and your family in hot, sticky weather. Even better, with so many shapes and size options, even homeowners with the tiniest backyards can find a Latham pool for their property.

Once you’ve decided to add a pool to your backyard, the fun begins. It’s time to unleash your imagination and start designing a backyard pool beyond compare, complete with landscaping, lighting, and upgrades. Read about our backyard pool ideas to get your creative juices flowing!

How Do I Decorate my Backyard With a Pool?

The options for landscaping and décor for your pool are virtually limitless. When considering backyard pool landscaping ideas, look for images that elicit the emotion you want to feel when enjoying your own pool.

Are you looking for a Zen space where you can retreat from the world and wash your cares away? Asian-themed pool landscaping with minimalist design and clean lines is an excellent option. If your lawn is your pride and joy, choose a simple pool surrounding that accents – rather than competes – with your flawless greenery. Free spirits will love a nature-inspired landscape complete with organically placed plants and stones, broken only by a few bubbling waterfalls. Homeowners looking to impart an exotic ambiance in their backyard can achieve a tropical feel with an earthen hardscape and an assortment of lush plants and palms. Take note of which pool themes inspire awe for you, and you’ll soon see trends in your preferences that will put you on the right track.

You may also want to consider the type of furniture you’ll put around your pool to maximize your enjoyment when you’re not actually in the water. Maybe you want to kick up your feet and relax poolside with a book or cool beverage. If that sounds like an ideal afternoon, consider a chic chaise lounge or a luxury Adirondack chair with a wide arm rest that’s big enough for a plate of food or your beverage of choice. If you have little kids at home, you may want to consider some less-expensive more durable options, like patio chairs.

One other thing to consider when planning your pool design is the time of day when you will use your backyard. While pool lights supply a softly glowing ambience, if you plan to host nighttime events, it’s always a good idea to supplement them with additional sources in the surrounding landscape. Not only will this offer an added element of safety for your guests, but lighting allows you to tastefully showcase your pool décor all day and all night.

6 Backyard Ideas for Your Pool

There are two critical things to consider when planning your poolscape: backyard size and how you plan to enjoy your pool. If you’re most interested in using a pool for exercise, a small lap pool with an exquisite vertical fountain and lavish tiling can be a stunning addition. If you envision hosting a lot of poolside events, a pool with significant deck space is a must. However, a pool like the Providence can offer you the best of both worlds: a 30-foot swim lane for exercise alongside a generous tanning ledge and beverage bench. Choosing a pool that works with your needs can help you set the tone for your backyard and help you select the right landscaping elements to create a harmonious vibe.

Regardless of what features are on your pool wish list, once you’ve established these parameters, you can move onto customizing your pool and its surroundings.

Where Should I Put my Pool in my Backyard?

When deciding where to put your pool, go back to how you want to use it. Will you need a lot of space surrounding the pool, or are you looking to tuck it into a hidden corner? If you’ve already spent significant time and energy on landscaping your backyard, choose a location that complements the work you’ve already put in.

You also want to consider your budget. If you have a more conservative budget and need to streamline your décor ideas, you may want to place your pool closer to your home so it doesn’t look awkwardly stranded in the middle of your yard. If your budget is more substantial and you’re looking to splurge, you can allow more space around the pool for lavish landscaping or tiling.

1. Consider Furniture Options

You may also want to consider the type of furniture you’ll put around your pool to maximize your enjoyment when you’re not actually in the water. Maybe you want to kick up your feet and relax poolside with a book or cool beverage. If that sounds like an ideal afternoon, consider a chic chaise lounge or a luxury Adirondack chair with a wide arm rest that’s big enough for a plate of food or your beverage of choice. If you have little kids at home, you may want to consider some less-expensive and more durable options, like patio chairs.

2. Add Lighting to Enhance Night Swimming

One other thing to consider when planning your pool design is the time of day when you will use your backyard. While pool lights supply a softly glowing ambience, if you plan to host nighttime events, it’s always a good idea to supplement them with additional sources in the surrounding landscape.

For instance, string lights can add an ethereal, fairy-like glow when strung around trees or decking. Recessed deck lighting – particularly in any decking that has stairs – can help enhance visibility at night when you’re climbing or descending stairs to enjoy your pool after sundown. Not only will this offer an added element of safety for your guests, but lighting allows you to tastefully showcase your pool décor all day and all night.

Explore these lighting ideas for your backyard!

3. Choose a Location for Your Pool that Complements Your Backyard

When deciding where you should put your pool in your backyard, go back to how you want to use it. Will you need a lot of space surrounding the pool, or are you looking to tuck it into a hidden corner? If you’ve already spent significant time and energy on landscaping your backyard, choose a location that complements the work you’ve already put in.

You also want to consider your budget. If you have a more conservative budget and need to streamline your décor ideas, you may want to place your pool closer to your home so it doesn’t look awkwardly stranded in the middle of your yard. If your budget is more substantial and you’re looking to splurge, you can allow more space around the pool for lavish landscaping or tiling.

Beyond budget, you also want to consider any unique geographic features or property constraints of your backyard. For instance, a sloped or irregularly shaped backyard can sometimes pose a barrier to installing a pool. Your builder may need to grade your backyard or install a retaining wall to make a pool work. In instances like these, be open to your builder’s recommendations. They have experience with situations like these and can recommend a different shape or style of pool – such as a fully-customized vinyl liner pool – that works with your backyard.

4. Get Creative with Decks

In keeping with the “less-is-more” minimalistic approach to pool design, you can also get creative with deck space. Teak slats, stone blocks in a whimsical pattern, or tasteful earthen clay tiles in clean, straight lines will draw the eye to your pool – not the lack of space in your backyard. 

You may also want to consider low-maintenance wood alternatives like Trex composite decking. Composite decking is requires less maintenance than its natural wood counterparts, which may be prone to warping – especially in such close proximity to water and people running around with wet feet. While you can certainly waterproof wood decking, composite decking may offer a more low-maintenance alternative that reduces time spent on upkeep.

Stamped concrete decking can also be another excellent low-maintenance – and affordable option. Stamped concrete requires less manual labor than pavers, but can offer a similar look. If a faux cobblestone style doesn’t work for you, stamped concrete also opens up the possibilities of different geometric or abstract patterns stamped into your decking for an eye-catching mod look!

Need help deciding what decking works for your needs? Check out our blog on pool decking options! 

5. Use Plants to Accent Your Pool

You can use almost any plant to accent your pool with style, but the best options are plants that grow easily in your area. This will also help with your water bill since you won’t have to water them excessively to keep them alive! Choose plants that are favorable for the environment you aspire to elicit and are in line with your appetite for maintenance.

For example, if you do not enjoy caring for your garden or mowing your lawn, hedges that need consistent trimming to avoid looking untidy are probably not ideal. If you’re in an arid climate, a lush, verdant landscape is going to require a good deal of excess watering to keep it looking fresh. Local landscapers or garden enthusiasts will be able to point you in the right direction.

There are several options to choose from depending on your location and climate. If you have hot, dry weather for most of the year, you can decorate your outdoor space with cactus, sunflowers, salvia, or geraniums – just to name a few plants that thrive in this environment. If you need plants that can hold up in cooler temperatures, look for coneflower, spruce, pansies or winterberries. Whether you’re a plant novice or a regular green thumb, here is some more pool inspiration for garden lovers.

6. Pool Landscaping Ideas for Privacy

A secluded enclave for your pool where you can fully relax and let the water wash away the stresses of the day is a dream environment for many homeowners. You can use both organic and man-made elements to achieve this.

Try fringing your pool with sturdy hedges or plants with dense foliage for a lush, natural surrounding. A fence or trellis draped with curling vines peppered with flowers is an attractive accompaniment that also serves to protect your privacy.

Use layering to your advantage, too. If you have tall trees or a fence, place small plants or bushes in front of them to give your backyard the illusion of depth, or try framing your pool surroundings with colorful tile accents to visually separate the two.

Pool Landscaping Ideas to Enhance Small Backyards

Small yards can benefit from pools just as much as larger ones. In fact, they can be easier to maintain and more wallet-friendly, so you may consider implementing some small backyard pool landscaping ideas, regardless of the size of your yard.

A simple rectangular pool with minimal surrounding deck space is a reliable option for homeowners with small backyards. Play up the simplicity of the landscape with elaborate tiling inside the pool, and stick to simple foliage like flowering herbs that won’t overwhelm your space. 

Freeform pools can also be another beautiful option. Their intricate, winding curves often capture the natural feel of a stream cutting through your yard, creating a tranquil vibe. Depending on how a freeform pool is angled in your yard, they can open up some decking space to give you more room to BBQ, add seating or landscaping features, and make the most of your backyard – no matter how big or small. 

Attempting to add too much can detract from the beauty of your pool and require more demanding upkeep. For instance, not only will you need to tend to regular pruning of larger topiaries and shrubs, but your beautiful greenery may shed leaves into your pool, depending on how close they are and the time of the season. This can potentially mean more time spent skimming leaves than enjoying your pool. 

Small yards are also great for plunge pools. Embrace the ancient antiquities with copper accents and Grecian-inspired tiles, all framed by gently swaying fronds.

Check out these low-maintenance landscaping ideas for around your pool!

Advice for Backyard Pool Landscaping Ideas

No matter your landscaping, layout, and décor, remember to be true to yourself. Choose a pool landscape design that feels right to you and that will make you happy. Don’t follow trends just because you think you should.

That said, you should absolutely consider your budget, backyard size, and maintenance time during the planning process or you may end up regretting your decision. Talk with your pool dealer or landscaper – they are experts who will be able to guide you towards a cooler, more relaxing future in your very own backyard.