A pool should feel like an oasis: cool, calm, and easy to look after. But the wrong plants can turn that dream into a full-time cleaning job.
The best poolside gardens are those that look lush but don’t constantly shed leaves or drop flowers into the water.
With the right mix of structure, colour and resilience, you can have greenery that feels tropical without the maintenance headache.
Editor’s Poolside Picks
Keppel Cotton Beach Towel in Dark Olive
$99.95 at Countryroad
Dwell Home Gideon Wooden Sun Lounge
$229.99 at Templeandwebster
Pool Ring in Olive
$29.99 at Myer
Fringed Beach Umbrella 2m
$95.99 at Au
How to create a pool garden
The key to a great pool garden is to keep things simple and cohesive.
Stick to hardy species that love the sun, avoid anything that drops leaves or has invasive roots, and use repetition for rhythm.
The result is a garden that feels relaxed and resort-like and the perfect backdrop for lazy afternoons, cool water and not a skimmer basket full of leaves in sight.
The best pool-friendly plants for your garden
1. Aloe Barberae
When I design around a pool, I start with the feature trees, and you can’t go wrong with a tree aloe (Aloe barberae).
It gives height, shade, and that sense of retreat.
Its bold green foliage is a stand-out feature in the sun. It’s evergreen, drought-tolerant, and its foliage doesn’t clog filters or stain paving.
The shadows and light these tree succulents create really give you a sense of being somewhere exotic.
2. Coastal Rosemary
Next come the shrubs, which provide shape and fill the middle ground.
One of my favourites is Westringia fruticosa, the coastal rosemary.
It’s tough as nails, shrugs off salt and wind, and clips beautifully into neat rounded forms or can be kept shaggier and more relaxed.
Its soft grey foliage ties in perfectly with stone and water, and the small mauve flowers add a touch of colour without fuss.
3. Oriental Pearl
Indian Hawthorn ‘Oriental Pearl’ is another tough-as-old-boots shrub for by the pool as it seems to thrive in tough conditions.
This variety forms slow- growing rounded bun shapes in deep green that sets off the silver tones of other sun-hardy plants.
Come spring it will be covered in small white starry blooms, but surprisingly they never seem to fly away in the breeze into the pool.. They simply turn brown and fall to the ground around the rootzone – almost self-mulching!
4. Ornamental Grass
Something a good pool garden also needs is movement, and that’s where ornamental grasses come in.
Lomandra longifolia ‘Tanika’, Pennisetum and Miscanthus all earn their keep.
Grasses stay evergreen, grow in neat clumps and sway beautifully in the breeze without ever shedding into the pool.
They handle heat, wind and neglect, yet always look tidy – the very definition of low maintenance.
5. Kidney Weed
To soften the edges and cover bare spots between pavers or stepping stones, go for a ground cover that can handle the heat and still look fresh.
Dichondra repens, or kidney weed, forms a dense, cooling carpet of green that feels great under bare feet and holds up brilliantly through the summer.
It’s also a good way to visually link paved areas with planted beds.
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