Landscaping tips for pools braving the Texas heat

How can you create a relaxing oasis in your outdoor pool area under the sweltering Texas sun? After all, when your backyard is baking under the sizzling heat, it feels like a grape shriveling up into a raisin. However, there are a number of ways to maintain a cool, comfortable, and pristine pool area that’s functional and looks great.

Here are some landscaping tips designed to help you beat the heat while creating a one-of-a-kind aesthetic.

Pool Decking

The heart of your pool landscaping is the pool deck, which needs to be selected carefully in order to accommodate the humid climate, your children’s playdates, foot traffic from entertaining guests, and the overall visual design you’re looking to achieve. When choosing your materials, you’ll want to pick a lighter color over a darker shade to avoid feeling like you just walked across a pit of hot coals.

Travertine, a material similar to marble, is highly porous and doesn’t retain heat. To boot, non-slip travertine decking is available in a wide spectrum of attractive colors, which will allow you to fashion a space that appeals to your unique design preferences. Flagstone is another option that reflects heat, has a non-slip surface, and can endure heavy foot traffic.

Plants Built to Survive the Sun’s Rays

No backyard entertainment space is complete without a little green. There are a variety of plants that are low-maintenance, thrive in the heat, and will perfectly complement your pool area. If you’re looking to create a tropical aesthetic, palm trees and banana trees provide some much-needed shade for your guests and can survive hot environments. You may also want to consider agave plants, which are ideal for climates that get very little rainfall. It’s important to note, however, that agave plants are infamous for their fast growth rates and will sprout into adulthood before your eyes.

An easy, eye-catching option that requires minimal maintenance is grass. Whether you elect to use feather grass, lemongrass, or blue fescue grass, adding this type of green to your pool landscaping is perfect for enhancing the beauty of your outdoor space while also masking any bare, unsightly areas. Many homeowners are craving some vibrant, bold colors in their backyard landscape. If this sounds like you, geraniums and citronella plants come in a variety of colors, fight away pesky mosquitos, and add some unique texture to the pool’s scenery.

Get Creative

Whether your family and guests are enjoying some poolside mouthwatering BBQ or looking for a bit of shade to cool down after working on their tan, creating a permanent shaded space is a great way to shield everyone from the hot Texas sun. Permanent structures, such as canopies, are both pleasing to the eye and perfect for enjoying the warm weather without the sunburn. Another out-of-the-box idea is to use fencing to promote air circulation. Wooden flat fences and mental screen fences are both built to get the breeze flowing and ensure you remain as cool as possible while hanging out poolside. By incorporating a few of these landscaping ideas into your pool area, you’ll transform your blistering-hot entertainment space into a relaxing, backyard oasis.

Pool companies in Texas

There are many pool companies in Texas but Authentic plaster & tile is one of the best. The company was founded by Diane Pierce and her family 35 years ago in Texas. Their specialty ranges from simple remodels with pool surface, tile, coping to pool resurfacing and remodeling by adding tan ledge, benches, water features and more. Also their own developed and manufactured pool surface material, Hydra Products, is warranted in-house and gives not only material warranty but also labor.