9/10

Best Pool Plant for a Container: Lantana

Here’s another double-duty plant, because lantana not only looks great in a pot, but lends bright color and intriguing fragrance to its surroundings. A vigorous perennial or even shrub in warm climates, lantana is grown as an annual in the North, where clusters of butterfly- and hummingbird-attracting flowers cover it all summer.

It comes in a range of bright colors — yellow, orange, pink, red, white, purple — and blushing multicolors. Grow in Zones 8-11.

10/10

Best Pool Plant for Edging: Dwarf Blue Fescue

At less than a foot tall, ‘Elijah Blue’ is one of the shortest ornamental grasses, so it makes a good edging plant. Its blue-gray foliage, mounding habit and buff-colored plumes make it especially attractive when massed. And it’s a great companion for colorful perennials like Rudbeckia, Echinacea, daylily and salvia. It’s also drought tolerant. Grow in Zones 4-11.