Big Yard Swimming Pool

Some great ideas and tips for creating privacy around pools in big backyards

Like most swimming pool areas, the main focus for the landscaping and surrounding area is to create privacy with plants and hardscape elements. And with this home and yard being so big and right next to a major traveled street, the plants and landscape around this pool needs to be well thought out.

Plants Used Around This Pool

• Mondale Pine Trees - Large dark symbols around the perimeter used to screen for privacy.
• Dwarf Crape Myrtle - Small orange plants next to the pool
• Dwarf Youpon Holly - Small dark symbols next to swimming pool and also used to add to the privacy screen.
• Modesto Ash - Big trees in lawn area closest to the home.
• Mexican Elder - Single tree in gravel area just outside the swimming pool fence.
• Plants next to the home are specific to our area and include Dwarf Crape Myrtle, Dwarf Mock Orange, Dwarf Variegated Mock Orange, Barberry, Lavender, and Feather Reed Grass.

More About This Design

First of all, this pool area is where it is next to the road because the client didn't want to use up his entire backyard with a swimming pool. However, that put it next to a busy main road. Not much privacy.

Another thing is that the client didn't want a seven foot wall around the pool on the road side. So creating privacy around this pool is about Plant choices that will help create privacy as well as noise reduction from the busy street.

First, we created a boundary next to the road using Mondale Pines which are very fast growing and moderately dense trees that absorb a lot of noise. These are the larger dark plants that you see in the design. Then next to the pool we placed a row of Youpon Holly. And while Youpon Holly are slow growing, they are a wonderful character plant. To offset the fact that Youpons are slow growing we used already mature plants. It was more expensive but necessary.

The two larger trees in the lawn area are Modesto Ash which are fairly fast growing trees. The small tree in the gravel area is a Mexican Elder. All of these plants combined help to create a screen that makes this estate pool area hard to view from the road.

Even though the pool area won't be used in the Winter for swimming, the plant selection is still evergreen. This will make it a good private area for backyard entertaining even in Winter.

The brown walkway was created to connect the home, big swimming pool area, and backyard together for entertaining purposes and the obvious reason that it needed a path or walkway. This area is stamped decorative concrete.