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special section

Walk or splash into this natural pondlike pool,which is overflowing with features.

water wonderlandBY ALLISON ENRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER JAY GRAHAM FIELD EDITOR CARLA HOWARD

Garden, Deck & Landscape Summer 2003 31

The undulating shape of Greg and

Heidi Ingram’s pool was inspired

by the surrounding hills and

mimics a natural pond. Its shallow

beach entry has a sandlike finish

that gradually blends into the

pool. At its deepest point, the pool

reaches 10 feet.

32 Garden, Deck & Landscape Summer 2003

special section

to leave home on a sunny

afternoon if your backyard is designed with family

fun in mind. Greg and Heidi Ingram and their two

sons, Ryan, 9, and Conner, 6, turned a near-barren

and hilly yard in Northern California into a retreat

with plenty of cool activities to enjoy.

Finished entirely with a surface of smooth river

rock, this in-ground pool comes complete with

a beach entry inviting visitors (and the family

pooch) to wade right in. Its natural coloring and

curvy, pondlike shape are

enhanced by coping crafted from

softened Connecticut bluestone.

Large boulders, some as heavy as

13,000 pounds, also edge the pool.

The boys use the boulders as

launching pads for dive bombs.

“We wanted to have a nice big

piece of open space for the whole

family to enjoy,” Heidi says. “It’s

nice to create an environment that

the boys don’t want to leave.”

The large beach entry is perfect

for children. It offers 8 feet of

wading, reaching just 3 feet at

its deepest point before dropping off. Applied over

gunite, the Pebble Tech surface is colored to look

and feel like natural sand. It makes every visit to

the pool feel like a trip to the beach. The pool’s

There’s no need

LEFT: Greg and Heidi and

their sons, Ryan (left) and

Conner (right), enjoy their

outdoor space year-round.

BOTTOM LEFT: The natural

appearance of the beach

entry is enhanced by the

Connecticut bluestone used

for the pool’s coping. To

remove any hazardous

points around the pool, the

stone edges were softened

with a high-heat technique.

THIS PAGE: A permanent

umbrella provides plenty of

poolside shade. The

structure has an 18-inch-

thick cypress trunk and a

handwoven rush roof.

As the sun goes down, the lights come up around the hot tub and its steps, which are lined with fiber-optic lighting.

34 Garden, Deck & Landscape Summer 2003

LEFT: Child safety is always an

issue when there’s a swimming

pool, so Greg and Heidi’s home

is equipped with an alarm

system that sounds if their

children get too near the pool.

THIS PAGE: You’d never know

it, but a concrete bunker,

housing all of the pool’s

mechanics, sits just behind the

hot tub’s waterfall.

special section

Salty WatersA dip in a saltwater pool isn’t like swimming in the ocean, which comes repletewith salty skin and briny scents. A saltwater pool actually uses granular salt (thinktable salt minus the additives) as the basis for its chlorinating process, and it onlycontains 2,500 to 3,000 parts per million (ppm) of salt. (The ocean has 20,000ppm, and your eyes contain 9,000 ppm.) In fact, the salt can barely be tasted.

Installed between a pool filter or the heater and pool return, a saltwater systemnaturally creates chlorine to keep a pool clean. Chemical chlorine is still used inconjunction with the system to sanitize the water but in much smaller amounts.Natural chlorine controls pH levels and inhibits bacterial growth, but the harshcompounds and additives found in chemical chlorine—which cause itchy eyesand skin—are missing.

A saltwater system adds almost $1,000 to the price tag of a pool; however,salt costs less than traditional chemicals, so you usually make your money backin two to three years.

curvaceous shape disguises

another feature: a 57-foot lap lane

that runs down the pool’s center.

A stunning waterfall spills

from a rise behind the hot tub,

down the slope, and into the pool.

The Ingrams scoop handfuls of its

cool water into the hot tub when

the hot water gets too steamy. The

heated pool also boasts a salt-

water chlorinating process and an

unusual pop-up filtering system

that draws dirt and debris in the

water downward and into the

drains. With the filtering system,

the pool requires cleaning only

every three weeks.

Hidden in a buried 12×12-foot

concrete bunker, the pool equip-

ment and mechanics are unheard

and out of sight. Covering the bunker and edging

the pool are grasses and flowers selected by land-

scape designer Jan Gross to rustle and sway in the

breeze. Eight hundred feet of pathways lined

with fruit-bearing plants lead to the yard’s other

attractions, including a fire pit and orchard. “The

garden puts in a long day,” Greg says, “from when

we’re picking fresh raspberries for breakfast to

11 p.m. when we’re in the hot tub under the stars.

It’s really a getaway.” ❏

FOR RESOURCES, SEE PAGE 138.

POOL DESIGNERS: NICOLE EHRET AND STEVE LINGNAU

POOL BUILDER: JESS JANSSEN

STONE CONTRACTOR: PASCUAL CASTILLO

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER: JAN GROSS