40 Stunning Ways to Landscape Around a Swimming Pool
Turn your basic swimming hole into a relaxing oasis with these creative ways to use low-maintenance landscape plants, hedges, rocks and more in your pool design.

©Pool Environments
Photo By: Hawaii Life Real Estate Brokers, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Photo By: Doug Young
Photo By: Peter Starman
Photo By: Craig Reynolds Landscape Architecture, photo by Tamara Alvarez
Photo By: Lifestyle Production Group
Photo By: Craig Reynolds Landscape Architecture, photo by Barry Fitzgerald
Photo By: Falling Waters Landscape Inc., www.fallingwaterslandscape.com
Photo By: Heather Knapp
Photo By: Tamara Alvarez
Photo By: Steve Silverman Imaging
Photo By: Alicia Cattoni
Photo By: Warwick P Hunt
Photo By: Marion Brenner
Photo By: Tamara Alvarez
Photo By: Darren Edwards
Photo By: Tidy Gardens Landscaping Inc., www.tidy-garden.com
Photo By: Platinum Poolcare, photo by Linda Oyama Bryan
Photo By: John Ellis Photography
©Pool Environments
Photo By: Albert Goodman
Photo By: Ryan Gamma Photography
Photo By: Anna Lowder
Photo By: Armond Aquatech Pools and Halkin Photography
Photo By: www.georgiaclassicpool.com, photo by Joshua Dover
Photo By: Kerr Construction, Inc., www.kerr-construction.com, photography by Jeff Zaruba
Photo By: Genus Loci Ecological Landscapes Inc., photo by Anthony Chung
Photo By: Platinum Poolcare and OutVision Photography
Photo By: Platinum Poolcare, photo by Rockit Projects
Photo By: Easyturf.com
Photo By: Armond Aquatech Pools and Halkin Photography
Photo By: Platinum Poolcare and Outvision Photography
Photo By: EWM Realty International, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Photo By: Village Properties, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Photo By: Platinum Poolcare and Outvision Photography
Photo By: Mark McWilliams
Photo By: Jonathan Davis; Chris Foster
Photo By: www.georgiaclassicpool.com, photo by Joshua Dover
Lovely + Low-Maintenance
For a low-water landscaping solution, opt for a variety of plants that can handle being planted in rocky, potentially dry, settings, like those in this rustic, Mediterranean-style courtyard.
Lush Oasis
Creeping plants are the perfect accessory to pool areas where you want to soften the building materials and add a romantic touch to the surroundings. Echo the natural look of this stunning poolscape by installing a mix of tropical plants and flowering, creeping ground covers such as phlox to fill in the crevices and corners of a natural boulder border.
Bed Head
Try out the "bed head"-style gardening trend in your pool landscape by pairing lush hydrangeas with scattered plantings of daylilies, ornamental grasses and more. This purposefully-overgrown look is a perfect complement to the sylvan backdrop and curved edges of this cottage pool.
Hedge Your Bets
Clipped boxwood hedges and a luxurious green lawn add privacy and traditional elegance to this pool area. Whether you choose to float in the pool or enjoy a meal on the terrace, a landscape like this makes every summer day feel like a vacation.
Paver Path
A new deck and Craftsman-style pool house give residents and guests a place to lounge poolside and enjoy the views. The stone path surrounds the pool and allows guests ease in navigating the area.
Mix It Up
Seamless Swimming Pool
This 12,000-square-foot contemporary Florida home is located on one and a half acres of land. To keep the land eco-friendly, the lawn is synthetic grass. A sleek swimming pool seamlessly meets the lawn and is the perfect spot to relax outdoors.
Paradise Lagoon
Asian Fusion
This Asian-inspired poolside landscape features clean lines, simple concrete pavers that echo the shape of the house behind it, stunning statuary and a beautiful mix of drought-tolerant shrubs, grasses and plants. Bring the serenity of this Asian style to your own pool with tidy beds and plants such as mondo grass, pine, Japanese maple trees and bamboo.
Terraced Greenery
This backyard's pool and patio offer lots of options for chilling out or hanging out. The terraced landscaping provides greenery, giving the backyard space a lush look.
Lush Tropics
The pool's pretty turquoise is a bewitching pairing with the tropical garden's luscious green. Surrounded by lush greenery, this pool seems to be a tropical secret garden.
Soothing Fountains
Privacy inspires the design in this backyard, which is located along a busy road. Bubbling fountains add splashing sounds, accompanied by the gurgling of a stream over stone stairs. The fountain and stream are positioned so the water sounds are heard in each part of the backyard landscaping.
Mediterranean Inspiration
A narrow pool stretches the length of the courtyard, the jewel in the middle of the Mediterranean-inspired space.
Tropic-Cool
The mix of containers, low-lying rectangular planters, earthen hardscape and unique lawn pavers in this pool landscape combine to create a cool, relaxing scene. If the climate you’re in will permit it, copy this tropical look with plants such as banana trees and palms.
Natural Beauty
This infinity pool seems to sit right at the edge of the world. The native grasses and wildflowers that surround this pool seem to have always been here.
Taste of the Tropics
To give a special feel to all the different areas of this Key West backyard, landscape designers incorporated different materials like concrete pavers, gravel and native plantings.
Wonderful Waterfalls
The once sloped backyard was unusable, but with smart landscaping, the space is transformed into a stunning swimming pool, complete with slide, waterfall and hot tub.
Clean + Green
This pool landscape is all about clean lines and a flawless lawn. Spend time on the quality of your lawn and the simplicity of your hardscape (like this simple layout of bluestone pavers), and you won’t need an elaborate landscape design to make your pool area feel luxurious.
Suitable for Framing
Strategically placed potted plants, border plantings of conifers, groundcover and colorful outdoor furniture acquire a unique symmetry in this highly visual pool design from Tidy Gardens Landscaping Inc.
Inspired Connections
Moroccan Spice
Trendy Moroccan tile and healthy swaths of draping greenery pair perfectly in this gorgeous pool landscape. Copy the look by installing a sun-loving plant like Russian sage, which you’ll need to prune diligently and divide every several years for best results.
Credits: Architecture: Koffka/Phakos Design; Landscape Contractor: New View Landscape; Pool/spa and Masonry: Darin Marten Construction; Metal Work: Salvador Delgado
Fit for a King
This stunning combination of swimming pool and spa by Pool Environments, features a wall fountain with its distinctive laser cut steel sculpture mounted on a seven foot limestone and cast stone wall. The Mediterranean-style landscaping makes this pool space feel like a luxurious resort.
Blooming Beauties
An ivy-covered wall, pavers with grass joints and blooming flowers all-around help this outdoor space feel at peace with the landscape. In the center, a sunken swimming pool invites the owners to slow down and soak up the beauty of their surroundings.
Sleek Swim
Just a few steps away from the contemporary-style pool, a spacious patio doubles as an outdoor dining area. Meanwhile, tropical plants enclose the yard and help it feel even more private.
Stone & Shrub
This simply stunning flagstone pool deck is surrounded on all sides by flower beds filled with whimsical boxwood shrubs. Potted palms add lush pops of green to the deck, making the luxe swim space feel tucked-away in nature.
Mirror Reflections
Georgian Oasis
Lily and Erigeron Accents
Nature Preserve
A rocky landscape with aquatic vegetation, flowering plants and the great outdoors generate a Walden Pond vibe in this natural pool design from Genus Loci Ecological Landscapes.
Postcard Perfection
Nocturnal Knockout
Private Luxury
Liquid Carpet
Dynamic Color Palette
Let Mother Nature do the Talking
The emerald green lawn rolls right down to the edge of Miami's bay. Take in the sunset from the swimming pool or seated on the nearby private dock. The palm trees that line the water's edge, give nod to this backyard oasis' tropical location.
Above-Ground Glamour
This partially above-ground pool has style to spare. The stepped hill that hugs one side of the pool is an uncommon, yet striking feature and the landscaping meshes with the natural look of the Montecito, California location. Try a similar look with yucca plants spaced at regular intervals along your poolside garden beds.
Lawn Proud
Contain Yourself
A pretty container adds a splash of color to this modern pool area and complements the lush lawn and contemporary design of the patio. Like the arrangement shown here, make sure to include a thriller (a high-impact plant with the most height), a filler (a medium level plant that will fill in space), and a spiller (a creeping plant that will grow down the side of the container). Want to recreate this pretty planter? Surround tall rosemary with deep red coleus and lime green sweet potato vine.
Follow Your Nose
Herbs are a beautiful option for pool landscaping — not only are they pleasing to the eye, but their robust fragrances can transform your pool day into a relaxing trip to the spa. In this photo, bountiful swaths of low-maintenance lavender surround the pool area, with ornamental grasses as a backdrop.
SEE MORE: How to Use Herbs in the Landscape