Sun, Water, and Blooms: Keeping Your Poolside Pots Vibrant – Ken Lain

There is nothing quite like the sparkle of the sun on water to make a backyard feel like a sanctuary. But let’s be honest, a naked concrete deck or a lonely pool edge can feel a bit sterile. We want that resort-style lushness, that feeling of stepping into a private oasis. The secret lies in the landscaping.

When we talk about poolside planting, we have to be practical. You want the beauty of the tropics without the constant headache of cleaning leaves out of your filters. The goal is to find ‘clean’ plants—those that hold onto their foliage and withstand the heat reflecting off the water. Whether your style is a formal architectural statement or a wild, natural spring, the right plants will bridge the gap between your home and the water.

Refreshing Poolside Landscapes for the Perfect Patio

One of the biggest challenges I see is the ‘unsightly wall’ syndrome. Many pools are carved into slopes, leaving concrete retaining walls that feel cold. A brilliant solution is to build a raised planter against that wall and face it with luminous blue tiles. It makes the garden feel like an extension of the pool itself.

In this kind of setting, you want plants that look like they belong near the water. I recommend Foxtail Fern. Its long, upright stems look like soft green plumes and have a wonderful “underwater” texture. While it’s semi-evergreen in milder spots, here in the mountains, we treat it as a container star that moves indoors for winter.

To add height and drama, pair it with Tropicana Canna. These are showstoppers with massive, orange, burgundy, and green-striped leaves. They can reach 4 feet tall, giving you that tropical screen without the mess of a palm tree. For a structural anchor, the Dracaena Palm offers dark, rich foliage and a clean, upright habit that looks sophisticated in a ceramic pot.

Loosen Up for a Natural Look

If you prefer the “natural swimming hole” vibe, the key is to keep the landscape loose and airy. I like to use artful boulders right up to the water’s edge—perhaps even one flat-topped rock to serve as a natural diving board.

To soften the stone, we look to ornamental grasses. Blonde Ambition Grama Grass is a rugged native that stands up to our wind and sun. It has unique horizontal seed heads that look like tiny golden flags. For a bit more grace, Maiden Grass offers silvery plumes in summer that turn a beautiful bronze as the weather cools. These grasses provide movement; they dance in the breeze, making the whole patio feel cooler.

Don’t forget the pollinators! Agastache (also known as Hummingbird Mint) thrives in our local soil. Its burgundy-rose flowers attract hummingbirds right to your poolside chair, and the foliage smells like licorice when you brush past it.

A View with a Purpose

If your pool overlooks a vista, don’t block it. Use a series of terraces and a muted color palette to draw the eye out toward the horizon. This is where we use the “cool” colors—blues, purples, and silvers.

Munstead Lavender is a must-have here. It’s a tough-as-nails evergreen shrub that provides that classic fragrance and rich purple spikes. Pair it with Harlequin Pink Penstemon, which produces tall spikes of bright pink flowers from early summer all the way to autumn. To add vertical interest without density, I love Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass. It stays narrow and upright, turning a rich golden tan that lasts all winter.

The Edible Poolside

Yes, you can even eat from your poolside garden! The trick is to use perennials so you don’t have to replant every few weeks. Seascape Strawberries are wonderful in pots; they are “ever-bearing,” meaning you’ll have fruit to snack on all summer long.

If space is tight, look for the Fignomental Fig. It’s a miniature marvel that only grows about 2 feet tall but produces full-sized, delicious figs. For a bit of spring color and autumn harvest, a Honeycrisp Apple can be grown in a large tub or espaliered against a fence. It offers charming white blossoms in spring, and the crispest fruit you’ve ever tasted come fall.

By choosing the right plants for our mountain climate, you can turn that backyard splash pad into a vibrant, living resort.

Free Gardening Classes Every Saturday @ 9:30 am

Join us for these upcoming topics:

1. July 18: Green Screens: Designing Living Walls for Beauty & Privacy
2. July 25: Designing Poolside Paradise with Patio Tropical Plant
3. August 1: Fast-Growing Trees for Quick Landscapes

Until next week, I’ll be helping gardeners plant better fruit trees here at Watters Garden Center.

Ken Lain can be found throughout the week at Watters Garden Center, 1815 Iron Springs Rd in Prescott, or contacted through his website at WattersGardenCenter.com or Top10Plants.com