While we would love to ensure our swimming pools are being used year round, the fact is that summer is when swimming pools get their most traffic.

And as many homeowners will attest the warmer climate means maintaining a beautiful, lush green backyard becomes increasingly more onerous and costly.

Thankfully a new trend is emerging and it’s changing the way Australian’s design their outdoor spaces.

Whether motivated by the cost of maintaining a beautiful green lawn, or living in a place that makes it near impossible to grow a lawn, grass is becoming a less important foundation for the humble backyard. The absence of lawn doesn’t mean your outdoor area needs to suffer.

The addition of well-placed and beautifully landscaped greenery can make you forget all about the absence of grass. When it’s design is well planned and the plants are thriving, it can make you feel as close to nature as possible.

Using plants of various shades, textures and sizes, can create a wonder illusion of a lush green oasis, with beautiful foliage draping over retaining walls and creeping onto paths.

Adding a splash of colour around your pool with tropical or colourful flowering plants can draw the eye to the centrepiece of your backyard. Tying in paths and retaining walls with the same colour materials as the pool, such as sandstone or natural bush rock can really create a spectacular outdoor oasis without the cost and maintenance of grass.

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