You’ve purchased a hot tub and placed it in your backyard. You’re enjoying the chance to unwind and escape everyday stressors in soothing waters. You love the way a long soak relieves muscle soreness and improves your sleep. It’s time to add to your outdoor oasis, time to create the backyard of your dreams. The following are some landscaping ideas and tips for creating the perfect personal haven with your hot tub at the center.

• Potted plants are a great addition to your hot tub installation. They let you play with colour, texture and height while the pots add character to your décor. The right plants can even repel certain insects!
• Aromatherapy plants: Add appeal and relaxing aroma to your spa area with aromatic plants (lavender, sweet box, lilacs, roses, petunias, portulacas, geraniums). Scents relax the mind and body almost as much as the waters of your hot tub. 
• Greenery: Break up the colours of your chosen flowers with a little bit of greenery (hostas, switchgrass, purple majesty, feather reed grass, and/or ferns).
• Hanging baskets. Fix extended brackets to your screening fence or exterior house walls. Place the brackets low enough so that hanging baskets are easy to water. To avoid petal and leaf debris, don’t place baskets directly over the hot tub.
• Vines add beauty and privacy (honeysuckle, hops, clematis, Engelmann ivy, Virginia creeper). Grow them on a trellis or lattice. 
• Plants to Avoid: Steer clear of trees and shrubs with thorns (barberry, pyracantha) or fruit and/or berry bushes that ripen and attract bees and wasps. 
• Mulch adds a finishing touch to your spa oasis. Available in brown, red and black it provides contrast with the hues of your spa, flowers and greenery while preventing the growth of weeds. 
• Mature trees, shrubs and bushes add natural beauty and privacy to your spa area. Use them to create a natural fence between the hot tub and the outside world. Choose fast-growing trees (birch, trembling aspen, larch, lodgepole pine). Try shrubs (Lilac, Willow) that quickly provide screening. Enjoy bathing in your own personal forest! 
• Pathway: Help your family, friends and guests get to the hot tub safely with the addition of a pathway. Use stepping stones, pavers, bricks, crushed gravel, crushed limestone and/or pea rock so the path becomes part of the beauty of your oasis.
• Privacy barrier: If you’re feeling a little exposed while soaking in your hot tub and/or would like to enhance the atmosphere of your backyard, there are a number of attractive privacy solutions.
  • Gazebo: Wood or canvas, a gazebo will give you four-walled privacy around your hot tub.
  • Fence: A privacy fence is one of the most common ways to block the view of your spa. Plan carefully for a solid fence that does not leave you feeling barricaded.
  • Shades: Retractable shades offer privacy when needed but allow a view when you choose. Attach them to a railing.
  • Trellis: Providing separation from others without impeding daylight or airflow, a trellis is a great way to provide breezy privacy. 
  • Pergola: To screen your hot tub from view by those in the second story of nearby buildings, try the overhead coverage of a pergola draped with cloth or wire mesh.
  • Awning: Offering protection from the sun, an awning also blocks the view from the neighbours’ second-story windows. 
  • Umbrella: A low-tech umbrella might be all you need! Available in many sizes, patio umbrellas are perfect for areas where large trees are sparse. 
• Serene seating: Some like to lounge in soothing waters. Some like to bathe in the sun. Others prefer a little of each! Add a patio or deck area close to your spa to create a spacious cohesive look that meets the needs of all hot tub users. Populate it with wooden, wicker, metal and/or upholstered chairs. Consider a swing, rocker, hammock or bench!
• Firepit or fire table: If you plan on entertaining and/or spending long evenings outdoors in your hot tub, a fire pit or fire table will make your backyard oasis more comfortable and add to the beauty and ambience.

Enhance your hot water oasis. Create the perfect garden retreat with your hot tub as the central attraction. From chic slatted screens to soft planting that subtly shields you from prying eyes, there are many ways to use landscaping to make your hot tub pop! 

Looking for a hot tub for your perfect personal oasis? Contact Calgary-based RnR hot tubs and spas. RnR provides comprehensive service, expert knowledge, a wealth of field experience and the best products in the industry to help you maintain your hot tub/swim spa for years of enjoyment. RnR is Alberta’s premier hot tub/swim spa store specializing in the World’s First Steel-Framed Spas from American Whirlpool, Vita Spas and MAAX Spas. Call (403) 203-0860 or fill out the contact request.