Home >> Landscaping Information >> Flower Tips

Landscaping around the Pool: Flower Tips

Some of the simplest landscaping you can do to spruce up the view from your swimming pool is to plant flowers. Here are some tips to make your flower beds look professional.

Start with 4 in. pots instead of the little cell packs (cell pack flowers are usually root-bound and not as well-established).

Don't plant one flower directly behind another flower. Plant the first row, then stagger the second row. On the third row, line up the flowers with the first row. Continue this pattern to the back of the bed.

For beds that have circles and curves, start planting in the middle of the circle or the back of a curve, and add flowers to each successive row as you work from the middle out (keep in mind, this is a more advanced technique--you may want to practice with straight lines first).

After you have planted your bed, stand back and make sure all the flowers are evenly spaced with the same amount of space from front to back and side to side. For most annuals, 6 to 8 in. apart is average. If you're short on flowers or using larger varieties, 10 to 12 in. will work. You'll probably want to want to leave room between the edge of the bed and the first row so your flowers don't grow over into the grass.

You can show off your back flowers by piling dirt higher in the back of the bed than in the front. For a circular bed, or one that is viewed from all sides, you would push the dirt to the middle. This will also help with drainage.