Creating a Beautiful Tropical Poolside Landscape
Creating a beautiful Poolside landscape requires planning. Here in Southern California, a lush tropical landscape is well within reach.
Here are some ides for creating a Tropical Backyard Oasis.
- Plant Lush Layers
- Use Water Features
- Create Stone Accents
- Find Tropical Plants that will thrive in your area
- Use plants that will grow to different heights for a natural look
- Incorporate color
To add to the beauty of your pool area, why not create a hummingbird-attracting habitat?
- Herbs, flowering shrubs, dwarf trees, and vines all can be used to create an ideal tiered habitat from ground level to 10 feet or more.
- Provide lots of space between plants to give hummingbirds enough room to hover and navigate from flower to flower.
- Hummingbirds love water, especially if it is moving. A gentle, continuous spray from a nozzle or a sprinkler hose is perfect for a bath on the fly.
- Hummingbirds do not have a keen sense of smell and rely on bright colors to find their food.
- They are particularly fond of red and are often observed investigating feeders with red parts, red plant labels, red thermometers, and even red clothes on a gardener. Note: Do not use red dye in a hummingbird feeder; there is concern that it may harm the birds. Instead, use plain, clear sugar water (1 part white sugar mixed with 4 parts water). The birds love it! If your feeder does not have red on it, attach a red label or other item to attract them.
- Brightly colored flowers that are tubular hold the most nectar, and are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. These include perennials such as bee balms, columbines, daylilies, and lupines; biennials such as foxgloves and hollyhocks; and many annuals, including cleomes, impatiens, and petunias.
- An often–asked question is, “Why do hummingbirds hum?” We really aren’t sure, but suspect that it might be because they don’t know the words.
SOME PLANTS THAT ATTRACT HUMMINGBIRDS:
Choose varieties in red and orange shades. Note** Many of the plants that attract hummingbirds also attract butterflies.
- Beard tongue
- Bee balm
- Butterfly bush
- Clove pink Dianthus
- Columbine Aquilegia
- Coral bells
- Daylily
- Larkspur
- Desert candle Yucca
- Iris
- Flowering tobacco
- Foxglove
- Lily
- Petunia
- Pincushion flower
- Scarlet sage Salvia
- Honeysuckle
- Soapwort
- Summer phlox
Plant these and enjoy the all around atmosphere that a well landscaped pool area provides.
