Smart Backyard Landscaping Design Around Your Fiberglass Pool
A fiberglass pool is just the beginning. Here's how to design the landscaping, decking, lighting, and plants around your pool to create a backyard you'll never want to leave, tailored for Sacramento-area homeowners.
Installing a fiberglass pool transforms your backyard. But the pool itself is really just the centerpiece of a much larger canvas. What you build around it — the decking, the plants, the lighting, and private spaces — determines whether your backyard feels like a beautiful afterthought or an outdoor sanctuary you'll enjoy every day.
Here's a thorough guide to designing the landscaping around your Latham fiberglass pool so the finished space looks and feels exactly the way you've been imagining.
Start With a Vision
Before you think about specific plants, pavers, or lighting fixtures, it's worth spending some time on the experience you want your backyard to deliver. The right answer looks different for every household.
Some homeowners want a clean, modern retreat, with crisp geometric lines, minimalist planting, and a pool that looks like it belongs in an architectural magazine.
Others want something more lush and tropical, with dense foliage, natural stone, and the sound of water to create a private escape from the world.
Families with young children often prioritize open deck space, durable materials, and easy sightlines from the house.
Homeowners who love to entertain want ample seating areas, outdoor kitchens, and enough room for guests to move comfortably between the pool and the patio.
There's no universally right answer, but there is a right answer for your family. Getting clear on the feeling you're after before you select any specific elements will save you from the common mistake of combining too many styles and ending up with a backyard that feels busy rather than beautiful.
Think About the Pool's Relationship to the House
One of the most fundamental landscaping decisions is how the pool relates to the house itself and the surrounding outdoor space.
A pool positioned close to the house creates a natural flow between indoor and outdoor living. When you can step directly from a backyard door onto a pool deck, the pool becomes an extension of your living space rather than a destination at the far end of the yard. This is an excellent approach for homeowners who want the pool to be part of everyday life, not an occasional outing.
A pool positioned farther from the house creates a sense of arrival and destination. Walking through a garden or down a pathway to reach the pool can feel intentional and even slightly luxurious. This approach works well for larger yards and for homeowners who want the backyard to feel like a resort ... a distinct place you go to decompress.
Sightlines from inside the house also matter more than most homeowners initially realize. Being able to see the pool from the kitchen, the main living area, or a bedroom window has real safety value for households with young children, and genuine aesthetic value for everyone. A glowing pool visible through a window on a warm evening is one of the most beautiful views a home can offer.
Decking: The Frame Around Your Pool
The decking that surrounds your pool is one of the most visually prominent elements of the entire backyard design. It's the surface your eye lands on first, the material your feet touch every time you approach the water, and the platform your furniture and outdoor living elements rest on. Getting it right matters.
Concrete is the most common and cost-effective decking choice for Sacramento-area pools. Standard broom-finished concrete is clean and practical, but stamped concrete opens up design possibilities like cobblestone patterns, slate-look textures, geometric designs, and warm earthy tones that can elevate the entire backyard's visual quality without a dramatic price increase. Stamped concrete also provides better traction than smooth poured concrete, which is an important practical consideration around a wet pool deck.
Pavers, whether concrete, natural stone, or travertine, are a premium option that delivers an exceptionally polished finished look. Pavers create natural expansion joints, which reduce cracking over time. They can also be removed and replaced individually if repairs are needed, which is an advantage over poured concrete slabs. Travertine in particular has become popular around residential pools in the Sacramento area because it stays cooler underfoot in direct sun than other materials, which is a meaningful benefit during the region's triple-digit summer days.
Composite decking materials like Trex are worth considering for areas adjacent to the pool that aren't the main pool surround, such as a raised deck, a covered patio extension, or a pergola platform. Composite materials require far less maintenance than natural wood, don't warp from moisture exposure, and are available in a range of colors and textures that can complement virtually any aesthetic.
Whatever material you choose, plan for generous deck space around the pool's perimeter. A pool surrounded by just a narrow strip of decking feels cramped and limits how you can use the space. Comfortable deck space for loungers, a dining table, and clear circulation pathways makes the backyard far more functional and enjoyable.
Plants: Choosing Wisely for the Sacramento Climate
Plants are what give a pool area warmth, texture, and privacy. But choosing the wrong plants creates problems, such as fallen leaves constantly clogging the skimmer, root systems that threaten underground plumbing, aggressive growth that takes over deck space, or high-water-demand species that undermine your conservation goals.
For Sacramento-area homeowners, the key is choosing plants that thrive in our climate of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, without requiring constant irrigation or intensive maintenance. The good news is that Northern California's climate supports some truly beautiful, pool-friendly plant options.
Ornamental grasses like Karl Foerster or Blue Oat Grass add movement and texture without dropping debris into the pool. They're drought-tolerant once established and look beautiful year-round. Lavender is another excellent choice — it loves dry summer heat, attracts pollinators, smells extraordinary near the pool, and stays tidy with minimal pruning. Agave and succulents work beautifully in modern or desert-inspired designs, require almost no irrigation, and provide an interesting look.
For shade near the pool (which can be genuinely valuable on a 105-degree Sacramento afternoon), look at non-deciduous options that won't dump leaves into the water. Italian Cypress trees create vertical structure and privacy screening without excessive leaf drop. Olive trees provide dappled shade and a distinctly Mediterranean aesthetic that works beautifully in the Sacramento Valley landscape. For a lush, more tropical look, Bird of Paradise plants deliver bold color and scale with surprising drought tolerance.
Avoid fruit trees near the pool that drop fruit, attract insects and create a slippery mess on the deck. Deciduous trees with abundant leaf fall mean constant skimming. Cotton-like seeds from certain trees can clog filters. Any species with aggressive root systems should be kept well away from the pool's plumbing and shell perimeter.
Creating Privacy Around Your Pool
For most homeowners, being able to relax by the pool without feeling like neighbors or passersby can see everything is an important part of the backyard experience. Privacy screening can be achieved beautifully without sacrificing aesthetics.
Tall hedges of Italian Cypress or Arborvitae create fast-growing, low-maintenance privacy walls that look polished and intentional. They require very little water once established and provide year-round screening without the maintenance of a formal hedge that needs constant trimming.
Horizontal cedar or composite fencing panels have become increasingly popular as a modern privacy solution. When combined with climbing plants or espaliered shrubs, a fence can become a living wall that adds beauty rather than just blocking sightlines.
Pergolas and shade structures serve double duty. They provide the overhead structure for string lights, retractable shades, or climbing vines, while also creating a sense of enclosure that makes the pool area feel intimate. A well-designed pergola at one end of the pool deck can completely transform the backyard's spatial experience.
Layering is the key principle behind effective pool privacy landscaping. Combining a background fence or wall with mid-height shrubs and low border plantings creates depth and a sense of lush enclosure that a single row of plants or a bare fence cannot achieve alone.
Lighting: The Detail That Transforms Everything
Outdoor lighting around a pool is often treated as an afterthought. That's a missed opportunity, because thoughtful pool lighting can make a backyard look extraordinary after dark and extend the practical enjoyment of the space by hours every evening.
The pool shell itself benefits enormously from underwater LED lighting. Modern LED pool lights can shift through the full color spectrum, allowing you to create completely different moods at the touch of a button — a cool white for practical nighttime swimming, a warm amber for a relaxed evening gathering, or a vibrant color show for a party. If you're building a new pool, integrating LED lighting into the shell is far simpler and less expensive than adding it later.
String lights strung between a pergola, along a fence line, or through the branches of nearby trees create the warm, ambient glow that makes a backyard feel genuinely magical in the evening. Solar-powered string lights have improved dramatically in quality and brightness over the past few years and can be a low-cost way to add significant ambiance.
Recessed deck lighting, particularly around stairs, level changes, and the pool's edge, serves an important safety function in addition to its aesthetic contribution. Well-lit steps and deck edges reduce the risk of trips and falls, which is especially important for evening entertaining when guests may be navigating the space in dim conditions.
Landscape spotlights aimed at key plants, a focal point wall, or a water feature add dimension and depth to the nighttime backyard. Uplighting a beautiful tree or a stone feature wall creates drama that makes the backyard feel well-designed rather than simply functional.
Water Features Add Sound and Movement
A water feature near a pool seems redundant until you experience how different it feels to sit beside water that is moving versus water that is still. The sound of flowing water is deeply relaxing and provides a natural ambient sound that softens traffic noise, neighbor noise, and other urban sound intrusions.
Deck jets, including arching streams of water that shoot from the deck into the pool, are a visually striking and relatively affordable feature that works beautifully with most pool shapes. They create a fountain-like effect without requiring a separate structure, and can be turned off when the pool is in heavy use and turned on for evening ambiance.
Waterfalls integrated into the pool's coping or surrounding landscape create a more dramatic effect and can be designed in everything from naturalistic stone arrangements to clean, modern sheet-style falls. Combined with the right plants and lighting, a waterfall feature can become the defining focal point of the entire backyard.
Bubblers on a tanning ledge — small jets that create gentle turbulence on the shallow shelf — are a delightful detail that turns the tanning ledge into a more interactive feature, particularly for young children who love to play in the gentle current.
Putting It All Together
The best backyard pool designs are not the most expensive or the most elaborate. They're the ones that feel most coherent. A consistent material palette, a planting scheme suited to the climate, thoughtful lighting, and a clear vision for how the space will be used are the ingredients of a backyard that looks and feels genuinely intentional.
Sierra Fiberglass Pools installs Latham fiberglass pools throughout Roseville, Rocklin, Sacramento, Lincoln, Auburn, and surrounding communities in Northern California. While our expertise is in the pool itself, we work alongside some of the best concrete and landscaping contractors in the region and are happy to discuss how your pool project can integrate with the broader backyard vision you have in mind.
Call or text (916) 537-6540 to start your free estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What plants are best to plant around a pool in Sacramento?
For Sacramento's hot, dry summers, the best pool landscaping plants are drought-tolerant species that drop few leaves and have non-invasive root systems. Strong choices include ornamental grasses like Karl Foerster, lavender, agave, Bird of Paradise, Italian Cypress for vertical screening, and olive trees for dappled shade. Avoid fruit trees, cottonwood, and heavily deciduous trees that drop leaves, fruit, or seeds into the pool and clog filters.
What is the best decking material around a fiberglass pool?
The most popular decking choices for pools in the Sacramento area are stamped concrete, travertine pavers, and natural or concrete pavers. Stamped concrete is the most cost-effective way to achieve a decorative look. Travertine pavers stay cooler underfoot in intense sun, which is a meaningful advantage in Sacramento's summer heat. Natural stone pavers deliver a premium look and durability. The best choice depends on your aesthetic goals, budget, and how much maintenance you're willing to do.
How do I create privacy around my backyard pool?
Pool privacy is most effectively achieved through layering. Combine a background fence or wall with mid-height shrubs and low border plantings. Italian Cypress or Arborvitae hedges provide fast-growing, low-maintenance year-round screening. Horizontal fence panels with climbing plants create a modern aesthetic. Pergolas over the deck area add a sense of enclosure and can support overhead vines, shade sails, or string lights that make the pool area feel like a private outdoor room.
How far should plants be from my pool?
As a general rule, plants should be positioned far enough from the pool that their root systems cannot reach underground plumbing — typically a minimum of five to ten feet for larger shrubs and trees, and further for species known for aggressive root growth. Plants that drop leaves, flowers, fruit, or seeds should be placed far enough away that prevailing winds don't regularly carry debris into the water. Your landscaper should help advise on appropriate setback distances for specific plant species.
Should I put grass around my pool?
Lawn grass around a pool is not generally recommended because it requires significant irrigation, contributes to water evaporation, and can introduce grass clippings and soil into the pool water. Concrete, paver, or composite decking creates a cleaner, lower-maintenance pool surround that eliminates these issues. If some lawn area is desired in the broader backyard, keeping it separated from the immediate pool surround by a band of decking or low plantings is a practical approach.
What kind of lighting should I put around my pool?
Effective pool lighting typically combines underwater LED pool lights within the shell, ambient string lights overhead or along fence lines, recessed deck lighting for safety on steps and pool edges, and landscape spotlights highlighting key plants or architectural features. LED pool lights are the most energy-efficient option and allow for color-changing capability. Planning lighting early in the project, before decking and landscaping are finalized, ensures the most seamless and professional result.
How much deck space should I have around my pool?
A comfortable pool deck should provide enough space for loungers, a dining or seating area, and clear circulation pathways around at least three sides of the pool. As a practical guideline, plan for a minimum of four to six feet of deck space on all sides of the pool, with wider areas on the sides where furniture and entertaining will be concentrated.
Can I add a water feature to my fiberglass pool?
Yes. Deck jets, waterfalls, and tanning ledge bubblers are all popular water feature additions that work beautifully with fiberglass pools. These features are best planned and integrated during the initial pool design and installation process, as adding them after the fact requires additional plumbing work. Discuss any water feature interests with us during your free estimate so they can be incorporated into the project plan from the beginning.
