Tuesday, 30 July 2013

An above ground pool finds a home

Over the past record breaking 33 days without rain I've been pondering the idea of getting a small above ground pool.  The visual eyesore as well as the extra amount of vigilance around safety and supervision required around a pool has kept me from getting one for our backyard.  However, the concept of having our very own water fun place to play in finally won out.  Unfortunately, by the time I finally decided to take the plunge we discovered every store is sold out of every make and model of every size above ground pool in our entire area and beyond.  A sad little girl and I tried one more store only be told "yeah, we sold out a month ago".  At check out the cashier asked if we found what we were looking for and we told her our tale.  She quickly replied "oh I was given a pool last year and my husband hated that it killed the grass, you can have it."  She kindly insisted that we take it for free and included all kinds of pool accessories - truly our chlorinated fairy godmother.
 
 
 
So yes, now I have my very own suburban water feature.  In the few days we've had it my children  and I have had a splashing good time.  The question remains: how to blend this very temporary yard structure into the landscape, in other words, how do you hide an above ground pool without spending any money?
  
Below is the before picture: big, blue and not so beautiful

 
After
 
I decided to do some quick relocation of some plants that either needed dividing or had been growing in pots.  A miscanthus was divided into three and a sad old lilly was chopped into four.  A hydrangea that had been grown from a found sapling under my front yard bush was plunked out of the pot.  It was free, easy and cheap.  As soon as summer is over the pool will be stored, plants put back into more permanent homes and the round patch will be reseeded with grass.  Shannon laughed when she saw my attempt to hide the pool, I suppose because it isn't exactly  much of a disguise.
 
 
 
 
Marshmallow the Hippo appreciates my poolside landscaping.

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