Above Ground Pool Landscaping Ideas on a Budget (That Look Way More Expensive Than They Are)

Let me guess. You finally got the above-ground pool set up, the kids are thrilled, and then you looked at it sitting there in the middle of the yard and thought… now what?

I’ve been there. In our first house, we had an above-ground pool, and I did the frugal rocks around the edge. We lived next to a farm field, so there were tons of big rocks that ended up in our woods on the property. I want to enjoy the pool during our very short season without spending a ton of money or time on it.

I don’t garden that way, and I’m guessing you don’t either.

(This is an oldie of our first house backyard, and we created the rock garden back into a little tiny pond behind the pool. )

So here’s the good news: some of the best-looking above-ground pool setups I’ve seen were done on a shoestring. It’s all about hiding the base, softening the edges, and adding a few touches that read “expensive” without costing much. Here’s exactly how I’d do it on a budget.

Start by hiding the base (this is 90% of the magic)

The reason an above-ground pool looks unfinished is the hard line where the pool wall meets the grass. Cover that transition, and everything instantly looks more intentional.

The cheapest way to do it is a simple planted border, about two feet wide, running around the pool. Lay down landscape fabric, edge it, mulch it, and tuck in a few hardy plants. That’s it. You’ve turned “pool plopped in the yard” into “landscaped pool area” for the cost of a few bags of mulch.

If you’ve ever edged a bed against your house, it’s the same idea — just curved around a circle. My whole walk-through for doing that cheaply is in front yard flower beds against the house, and every trick there works around a pool too.

Budget plants that thrive around a pool

Pool-side planting has two rules: no messy droppers (you’ll be fishing leaves out all summer), and nothing with aggressive roots or thorns near bare feet. Beyond that, go cheap and hardy.

My frugal favorites:

• Ornamental grasses — feather reed grass or fountain grass give you height and movement fast, and one plant fills out huge in a season.
• Daylilies and hostas — nearly free once a friend divides theirs, and they come back every year. (More on my go-to budget plants in the best cheap garden landscaping plants.)
• Lavender and Russian sage — that soft, silvery, resort-y look, plus they shrug off heat and sun.
• Potted tropicals — one or two cannas or elephant ears in pots read “vacation” instantly and can move indoors for winter. My whole cheat for filling pots cheap is in landscaping with potted plants.

Skip anything the deer treat as a salad bar if you’re rural like us — my deer-resistant landscaping list doubles as a great poolside plant list.

The rock and gravel trick

If you want the lowest-maintenance, most “designed” look for the least money, go with a rock border instead of (or alongside) plants. A ring of river rock or pea gravel around the base looks clean, drains beautifully, and never needs mowing or watering.

Here’s the frugal part: people give landscape rock away constantly. Check Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist free listings — folks tearing out old beds will practically beg you to haul them off.

Pair a gravel band right at the pool base with a few boulders and a couple of grasses poking through, and it looks like you hired someone.

No deck? No problem (the budget deck alternative)

Everyone assumes you need a full wraparound deck, and those run into the thousands fast. You don’t need it to make the pool look finished.

Cheaper ways to get that “step up and lounge” feeling:

• A small pallet or paver landing at the ladder — just enough for a couple of chairs and a towel spot.
• A gravel patio pad beside the pool with two secondhand loungers.
• A section of stock tank or raised planters used as a low visual “wall” on one side.

You get the function and the finished look without committing to a full deck build. (If you’re feeling handy, a lot of the DIY seating tricks in my cheap backyard ideas post work perfectly here.)

Add a little privacy (and hide the neighbors’ view)

Nothing makes a pool feel like a getaway faster than a little screening. And you don’t need an expensive fence.

Tall ornamental grasses, a row of arborvitae, a bamboo roll panel, or even a couple of trellises with climbing vines will do it. I rounded up a whole list of ways to do this cheap in 20 cheap fence ideas that actually look good — a few of those are perfect for boxing in one side of a pool.

Round, oval, or rectangle — does the shape matter?

A little. A round pool looks best with a soft curved border that echoes the circle — grasses and mounding plants. An oval or rectangular pool can handle a straighter, more structured border, and it’s the easiest shape to tuck a little deck or patio pad up against on the long side. Work with the shape you’ve got instead of fighting it and the whole thing comes together.

A few frugal finishing touches

• Solar path lights around the border — the single biggest “looks expensive” upgrade for the money. A row of soft glow at dusk changes everything.
• Mulch once a year, water deeply not daily, and let the hardy plants do the work.
• Add one focal point — a thrifted lantern, a big pot, a birdbath — so the eye has somewhere to land.

You don’t need a big budget — you need a plan

Here’s the honest truth I’ve learned puttering around our homestead: the yards that stop me in my tracks weren’t the most expensive ones. They were the ones where someone hid the ugly parts, softened the edges, and added a little glow at night.

Your above-ground pool can absolutely look like it belongs there. Start with the border, add a few cheap hardy plants, throw down some free rock, and build it up one weekend at a time.

If you try it, I’d love to see your before-and-after. 🌿

Pin this to your backyard board so you have it when you’re ready to dig in!

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