Pool Landscaping Ideas for Utah Backyards

The right landscaping turns a pool into a destination. The wrong landscaping creates constant maintenance headaches. Here are pool-friendly Utah landscaping ideas that thrive in our climate.

Best Pool-Side Plants for Utah

Drought-Tolerant Natives (low water, beautiful)

• Russian sage — purple flowers all summer, deer-resistant, zero care
• Blue oat grass — silvery-blue ornamental grass
• Yarrow — flat flower clusters, colors from white to red
• Penstemon — Utah native, hummingbird magnet
• Sedums + sempervivums — succulents for rock gardens
• Lavender — fragrant, drought-tolerant, flowers all summer

Privacy / Screening

• Skyrocket juniper — narrow upright evergreen
• Quaking aspen — Utah native, white bark, but suckers (use a barrier)
• Gambel oak — tough Utah native
• Rocky Mountain maple — multi-stemmed shrub-tree
• Ornamental grasses (miscanthus, calamagrostis) — fast privacy without leaf drop

Shade Trees (away from pool)

• Honeylocust (thornless) — fast shade, small leaves don’t clog filters
• Linden — large shade canopy
• Maple varieties — vibrant fall color

Plants to AVOID Near a Pool

• Cottonwood — sheds cotton-like fluff into pool
• Pine — needles drop year-round, hard on filters
• Bottlebrush, willows, mulberry — drop constantly
• Roses with thorns — bare-foot hazard
• Anything that drops berries — staining
• Aggressive root systems (cottonwood, willow, silver maple) — can damage pool plumbing

Design Principles for Utah Pool Landscaping

1. Tier away from the pool

Hardscape (deck, paths) closest to pool. Then low plantings. Then taller shrubs. Then trees at the edges. Keeps debris out of water.

2. Drought-friendly = Utah-friendly

Lawn around pools is high-maintenance and water-hungry. Native + Mediterranean palette is more authentically Utah and saves water.

3. Plan for evening

Path lights, uplit trees, lit pool features. Pool is gorgeous at night when illuminated.

4. Privacy strategically

Tall plantings on the lines of sight from neighbors’ second-story windows. Don’t wall off the pool entirely.

5. Functional zones

Pool deck, dining area, lounge area, shade pergola, fire pit, kitchen. Plan the zones, then plant.

Mulch & Hardscape Choices

• Pea gravel pathways — drains well, doesn’t track
• Decomposed granite — natural look, compacts hard
• Bark mulch — keep away from pool deck (gets in water)
• Boulder accents — Utah authenticity, low maintenance

Common Mistakes

• Lawn right up to the pool deck (mowing into pool, fertilizer in water)
• Planting trees too close (debris, root damage)
• Forgetting irrigation for new plants
• Skipping privacy planning
• Over-planting (less is more)

Peak Pools partners with several Utah landscape designers to coordinate pool + landscape from the design phase. Free design consult →