You love your new pool. You’ve been waiting for this for years, but something seems to be missing. It needs some good landscaping to really pull it together.
A beautifully landscaped pool area will give you the perfect backyard retreat. Lounge by the pool, watch the butterflies, hummingbirds and bumble bees, read a book, enjoy a meal, entertain friends, throw a bangin’ pool party.
In Charleston, fall and early winter are great times to remodel and landscape your pool area. The weather is mild, there’s more rain, the ground is soft, frost won’t be here until the new year. It’s also a great time to install your pool, if that’s something you still need to do.
What to Plant in the Fall & Winter
Ornamental Grasses
If you’re looking for a low-cost, low-maintenance facelift to your pool area, ornamental grasses are a great choice. The grasses below are great for Charleston’s climate and need plenty of sunshine to thrive.
Blue Fescue
This blue-gray, porcupine-like grass brings a unique look and nice cool tones to your pool area. In the late spring and early summer, they bloom with light-green and purplish flowers.
Purple Fountain Grass
Native to Africa, the Middle East and southwest Asia, purple fountain grass has been introduced to other areas around the world as an ornamental grass. It thrives in warmer, drier areas, though it can be invasive (so don’t go crazy with it).
Zebra Grass
A vibrant green and yellow grass, zebra grass is a great way to fill gaps in planters and along pathways. Its flowers are purplish or silvery-white and bloom in the late summer.
Perennials
These colorful, decorative plants live for 2 years or more. Though most of them grow in the spring and summer and die back in the colder months, the plants below are best planted in the fall.
Pincushions
Another low-maintenance option, pincushion flowers are color and stand tall. They work equally well in flower beds and planters. They also attract butterflies, which is cute.
Creeping Jenny
The aptly named creeping jenny grows low to the ground and spreads quickly. They’re great fillers, but they can overpower their neighbors. Put them next to taller plants and they’ll coexist peacefully.
English Lavender
Known for its beautiful purple flowers and pleasant, calming aroma, English Lavender is a perfect fit for your backyard oasis. Aside from their aesthetics, lavender can also be used for herbal remedies and aromatherapy, if you’re into those kinds of things.
Astilbe
These tall-growing perennials come in a variety of colors and make a great poolside plant. Unlike most of the other plants on this list, astilbe does well in the shade, so they can be planted under trees or next to a fence.
Coniferous (Evergreen) Trees
Everyone loves evergreens! They’re beautiful, they smell nice, they don’t drop their needles everywhere, and you can plant them pretty much year-round. Check out these evergreens to put around your pool.
Cedar
The wondrous cedar tree is an excellent option for your backyard—provided you have room for it! Cedars are quite large, but they’re beautiful and are easy to take care of. Cedar wood is also amazingly fragrant.
Pine
Another famously fine-smelling tree, the pine is probably the most famous and recognizable coniferous tree. They’re smaller than cedars and make an excellent privacy barrier.
Cypress
The big and bulbous cypress tree is another great option for the perimeter of your pool. Their foliage is thick, which makes them good for both privacy and for blocking wind.
Fir
A popular choice for Christmas trees, firs also make great privacy barriers. They’re handsome, lush, and pretty easy to care for. You can also decorate them during the holidays if you’re feeling particularly festive.
Deciduous Trees
Evergreens not your style? Maybe you like the big leafy guys that turn pretty colors. There are several deciduous trees that can be planted in the fall, just don’t put any of them too close to your pool where they can drop leaves, nuts and fruit willy nilly.
Crab Apple
If you’re looking for beautiful blossoms, you can’t really beat the crab apple tree. They’re not too large but they add a big splash of color. They bloom in the string and bear fruit—little baby apples, which, contrary to popular belief, are edible and nontoxic. Snack time!
Linden
These sturdy trees are a great backyard addition. They’re considered an ornamental tree with thick foliage that provides great shade. They also bear nectar-producing flowers that are important for our bee friends.
Maple and Elm Trees
We’ll lump these together because while they’re All-American staples, we hesitate to include them here because they need a good deal of space away from your pool. They have long, aggressive roots, so they won’t work well in smaller backyards. However, if you have the space, they’re beautiful and shady trees.
Bulbs
Looking to add some color but don’t have the space for larger bushes and trees? Bulbs are the perfect choice for you! There are several types of bulbs you can plant in the fall, but these are our favorites.
Hyacinths
Hyacinths come in a rainbow of colors like white, cream, pink, rose, apricot, blue, purple and red. Their vibrant colors and unique shape are a great way to spruce up small patches. They have a pungent smell, though, which some may not like.
Daffodils
Another flower with a multitude of available colors, daffodils are a familiar and charming addition to your landscape. Aside from being pretty, they also attract a lot of bees. This is great for bees, but maybe not so great for people who don’t like bees.
Starflowers
More colors! Starflowers come in white, lilac, yellow and pink. They look like stars (imagine that), so you can have your own little multi-colored galaxy in your garden. That would be pretty cool.
Tulips
A truly beloved staple of just about any flower garden, you can never go wrong with some tulips. You can find them in white, red, pink, purple, yellow and even black.
Alaglas of Charleston Is Here for You
Good landscaping around your new pool brings more joy than you can imagine. It’s amazing what a few well-placed plants can do. It’s your own little oasis.
Alaglas of Charleston is here to help you realize your dream backyard. Contact us here or call us at 843-789-9469 to get started!