Amy and Mark Mosher were more interested in blue water than greenery when they put an above-ground pool in their back yard five years ago. But when they and their two children weren't swimming, they grew tired of looking at the white sides of their 21-foot round pool in Scott.

First, the Moshers created a ring of red river rock around it. Next, they planted some variegated hostas in the ring. But nothing could hide their blue-and-white elephant.

Enter landscape designer Mark McKenzie of Landscape Architectural Services Inc. At the request of the Post-Gazette, he suggested a simple design and some low-maintenance plants to partially hide the pool and add color to the yard. Within two or three years, the fast-growing shrubs could be nearly as tall as the 4-foot sides.

Though the plants are small now, visitors already see a difference. "My sister came over and could not believe how nice it looks," Mrs. Mosher said. "I'm really happy with it."

Mr. McKenzie's first suggestion was to replace the tiny uniform ring around the pool with a large planting bed that bulges out to about 5 feet from the pool at its middle. In the center, he recommended planting a Cistena plum, also known as purpleleaf sand cherry. Reaching 6 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide, the shrub has burgundy-colored leaves and tiny pinkish-white flowers in the spring.

On each side, Mr. McKenzie recommended planting pink 'Knockout' roses and 'Gold Mound' Japanese spirea. Hot pink blooms cover this tough rose bush throughout the summer and the leaves have a reddish edge. The spirea has light pink flowers and bright gold foliage. At the front edge of the bed, he recommended a line of 'Big Blue' liriope, which has grassy foliage similar to daylilies and small, spiky purple flowers.

"It needed a border, like a frame on a picture," Mr. McKenzie said.

His initial thought was a boxwood border, but boxwood can have a more formal look and is more expensive than liriope.

"You have so much that is man-made," he said to Mrs. Mosher, gesturing toward the pool, adjacent swing set, shed and fences. "I'd like to see something very loose. My approach is more natural."

Mr. McKenzie took a similar naturalistic approach to landscaping around Rod and Nancy Swets' above-ground pool in North Huntingdon. Since their pool was on a corner lot and partially built into a slope, their situation was much different than the Moshers'. The Swets wanted a visual barrier between the patio and pool and to shield it from the view of passers-by.

"It was like a fishbowl if you wanted to swim," Mr. Swets said.

He recalled that one of the first things Mr. McKenzie asked him was whether he liked grass. The homeowner's negative answer pleased the designer.

"Good, I'm going to get rid of some of it," Mr. McKenzie said.

At the Moshers' house, he suggested removing grass from the shady spot beneath the slide and planting a hydrangea and the hosta left homeless by his poolscaping.

"Lawns should be usable area," Mr. McKenzie said. "We have more lawn than we need. ... This is a mission of mine."

In the Swets' yard, he replaced grass with large boxwood- and stone-edged beds filled with trees, shrubs and perennials, including sweetbay magnolias, hemlocks, redbuds, ornamental grasses and bayberries. The latter is one of McKenzie's favorite plants.

"Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is really good for screening. It grows from the bottom so it stays full and it has silver berries through the winter," he said.

Its leathery leaves are similar to, but smaller than, rhododendrons' and often stay on the bush through mild winters, he said. Depending upon growing conditions, it can reach 12 feet high and wide.

The Swets were so pleased with the result that they brought Mr. McKenzie back several times over seven years to landscape the rest of their property. They're convinced it was one of the reasons their house sold recently after just two weeks on the market.

"Once we got into this, we got completely hooked," Mr. Swets said. "Let's do more!"

At the Moshers' house, Amy Mosher was the go-getter. She closely followed Mr. McKenzie's spray-painted markings, leaving exactly 14 inches between each liriope. She initially had trouble locating the 'Big Blue' cultivar at area nurseries, then lucked out when Lowe's got some. She bought all of her plants there and an arbor for over the gate. Total cost, including topsoil and hardwood mulch, was about $550.

The arbor and the clematis vine that will eventually climb it were last-minute suggestions by Mr. McKenzie, who wanted to make the gate to the deck surrounding the pool more welcoming. He suggested sweet autumn clematis, a fast-grower that is covered with tiny white flowers in late summer and fall. Mrs. Mosher chose a pink one instead. She believes it and her yard will become more beautiful each year.

"This is exactly the look and feel that I wanted," she said. "It just has a homey feeling, very comforting."

Mark McKenzie and Landscape Architectural Services can be reached at 412-243-7214 or www.mark-mckenzie.com.