By Paula Novash

Name your summer pleasure. Is it long lazy afternoons floating in the pool, tending to the garden, relaxing dinners with friends on the deck? Whatever you’re looking forward to, now is the time to plan projects that will turn your steamy days into summer dreams. Consider some new plantings or landscaping features, perhaps a summer kitchen, or even an outdoor shower. What about a deck upgrade, maybe some built-in seating? Let’s dream big--could a resistance pool be in your future? Here are some ideas to ponder over a glass of iced tea....

Inground pools used to be rectangular cement ponds painted blue, with a diving board at one end and maybe a corkscrew slide. New pool designs curve to look more natural and can be accented by waterfalls cascading over boulders. "We can install a pool that looks like part of the landscape, like it’s been there forever," says Larry Hyland of O’Neil Pools and Spas of Edgewater.

Hyland says that some homeowners think they don’t have the space for a pool, but "We’ve installed tiny pools in tiny spaces." Small to Olympic-sized, the process to become a pool owner is the same. First you meet with the pool company to determine size and location of your oasis. A landscaper may be involved too, to suggest design features and plantings. An excavator lays out the pool. Digging takes a few days, then plumbing is installed and a steel frame "cage" constructed. Concrete is shot around the cage and trowled into place. Coping stone is laid on the top edge of the pool, tiling and deck surface are installed, and finally the surrounding fence (required by law) and final landscaping go in.

Sound complicated? Hyland points out that installing a pool customarily takes six to twelve weeks, but getting the required permits may stretch out over months. Homeowners who live in critical areas such as waterfront communities may need special approvals. "I tell people I can get [a pool] built for them quickly, but can’t guarantee when we’ll get approval."

Resistance pools ("treadmills for swimmers," Hyland calls them) can be installed outdoors or in. Like a spa, the pool uses air jets to create a current for exercisers to swim against. The current is adjustable, providing a gentle workout to a more rigorous one. These pools require little space, no more than eight by fourteen feet, and come as both preformed fiberglass shells or poured concrete. Any special considerations? "If the pool is indoors, dehumidification is extremely important," Hyland says. Inadequate dehumidifying creates unhealthily moist and musty conditions and can corrode mechanical systems in a home.

Landscaping

From poolside, you might consider enhancing the view.  Add a focal feature to
your yard, like a new round bed, trellis, or even a mirrored reflecting ball. 
Bigger landscaping projects can transform your space, creating "rooms"
outdoors with hedges and plantings, hiding poor views, or making an existing
yard feature like a wall or fence look even better.  Local landscapers will
have an abundance of suggestions, whether you crave cutting-garden borders or
simply want to camouflage the neighbor's junky shed.
Want a garden this summer but worry you don’t have the time to maintain it? Try container gardening, suggests Donna Sage, Marketing Director for Homestead Gardens of Davidsonville. "Containers don’t require much space and you can easily change the whole look of your patio or deck. Some people plant containers in the spring and change them for summer and fall, or you can plant now and have them full and beautiful in a few months."

Containers can vary from traditional clay pots to beautiful urns. You can use wheelbarrows, buckets, even an old sneaker, as long as there’s proper drainage and the plants aren’t crowded. And what kinds of plants adapt well to containers? A variety from perennials to tomatoes, but for a new look Sage suggests tropicals like palms, ferns, and crotons, which can be brought indoors in the winter. "Just make sure you’re choosing plants that will work well in your site, whether sunny or shady. Add variety with different heights and colors you like."

Sage particularly likes herbs in containers. "Plant in spring and they can be on your dinner table this summer."

Outdoor Lighting

Soft touches of light added to your nighttime landscape can create a whole new ambiance for summer evenings. Instead of the traditional locations—on a pathway or a lamp post—you can choose to accent trees or even potted grasses for a dramatic look.

Tiffany O’Donnell at Outdoor Illumination suggests wiring a large pot through the bottom to light a sheaf of sea grass or a waving palm. "It’s soft, yet dramatic, and it changes the focal point," she explains. "Adding light to other areas means that there’s not a single source, like the post, that takes over."

For homeowners with a Bay or river view, the waterfront area can be black at night. Up-lighting nearby trees gives definition to the grounds, says O’Donnell, and "looks great from a deck or patio. You can even down-light the grass around the tree for a lovely effect." Like many lighting companies, her firm consults with clients to come up with the initial design, then installs low-voltage wiring and quality fixtures.

Decks

A new or updated deck would be a great place to display those containers brimming with plants. Michael Prokopchak, ASLA, a landscape architect who runs the Annapolis office of Town Creek Landscaping and Design with his partner Jim Pendleton, says a hot trend in decking is maintenance-free materials. No more staining and sealing--now decks can be constructed of woodgrained vinyl wrapped around a solid wood core. "It looks like solid wood, but when you put it in you’re done," says Prokopchak.

Water Features

Steve Koza calls outdoor ponds "the new decks.  Everyone wants one."  Koza owns Tropic Bay Water Gardens, an aquatic garden center in Davidsonville that specializes in pond construction, cleaning, and supplies.  Clients find water features relaxing, he says.  "Watching the pool, fish and plants calms you right down."

Because a pond is a big outdoor aquarium, keeping the water healthy is a prime concern.  "If your water is filtered properly, fish and plants will be healthy," Koza points out.  Depth--an area that sinks to three feet discourages predators and shelters fish in winter--and size are other considerations, he says.  "Many people tell us they wish they'd made their pond bigger."  Koza also recommends installing a pond close to your house so that you can enjoy it in all seasons.

Want to enjoy the sun every minute that you can? More people are installing outdoor showers as part of pool houses or against the side of their home. Picture your bathroom shower stall with no roof. "People use outdoor showers on vacation and decide they want one," says Prokopchak. "We have clients who never take a shower indoors in summer."

Al fresco meals are a delight, and preparations can go way beyond flipping burgers on the grill. How about having an entire outdoor kitchen for culinary endeavors? It’s a real kitchen without walls, countertops or appliances, faced in brick or stone. "People want their cold drinks, their wine refrigerator, right there, and like to cook outside when they’re entertaining," Prokopchak explains. And the cleanup? "We can even install a dishwasher."