Well, of the plants you listed, I'd avoid crabapple because it has issues with Cedar Apple Rust disease, cotoneaster because it is very susceptible to fireblight disease, and pyracantha because it is thorny--especially if you have children that will be running around the pool area. So, that leaves Beauty Bush, Sambucus "Black Lace" and Viburnum. Of those three, I'd tend to go with Beauty Bush or Sambucus, but I am not sure either of them will do well in the hot afternoon sun.

If your pool is an above-ground pool and does not have a hard-surface decking that is made of concrete or something similar, they might have a chance. If it is an in-ground pool, though, and is surrounded by concrete decking, the plants that hide the pool equipment need to be able to withstand not only the very hot summer air temperatures and intense sunlight but also the reflected heat from the pool decking. Plants that are in morning shade and then are suddenly hit by afternoon sun plus the reflected heat from a pool decking can struggle in July and August. One reason you see so many tropical plantings around pools is because tropicals can handle the extreme afternoon air temperatures and the reflected heat from the pool decking.

If it were my pool, I wouldn't have chosen anything on your list for hot afternoon sun near a pool, but that's just me. I am in zone 7B with very hot summer weather and your weather might be more mild than mine, although summer is pretty hot and miserable everywhere in our state. When I choose plants for either the western or southern side of my house, the hot afternoon temperatures and the fact that the plants have to deal with heat reflecting off the walls of the house are a key consideration. In a situation like that, I prefer tough evergreen shrubs with very thick leaves, like hollies, because they shrug off the heat or tropical plants that thrive in hot weather and are not bothered by reflected heat.

We had a pool when we lived in Fort Worth, and I hid the pool equipment with two tall arborvitaes. They had a nice pyramidal shape,were very dense so they hid the equipment well, and didn't shed lots of debris that could blow into the pool. One problem with anything that flowers is that the flowers eventually fall and blow around, and then somebody has to spend time cleaning them up. The clean up can take more time on a daily basis than you think, especially if they blow into the pool and are floating on the water's surface.

Cannas are a good option for a poolside planting and the tall ones easily get 5 to 6' tall even if planted in poor soil, and even taller in good soil as long as they receive adequate moisture. Their flowers are larger and heavier and don't blow around as much as smaller flowers that weigh much less. The large green elephant ears get quite tall and dense as well. Both of those plants do well for me in morning shade/afternoon sun on the southern side of the house.

Often it takes a while to figure out what will grow well near a pool because the reflected heat from the pool decking is often not considered when plants are chosen.

Good luck,

Dawn

Could you put up a trellis to create a screen on both the south and west side, then plant in front of it. I think the canna that Dawn listed would be really pretty in front of it in the summer and make a good background for other flowers. In the winter you would still have coverage for the equipment.

I like the plastic trellis sold in the big box stores that comes is sheets of 4x8 and 2x8. It serves as a trellis but gives very good coverage for things you want to hide.

If not a trellis, I would have to go with Dawn's suggestion of holly as a hedge.

We are in 7a, But we're on the east side of OKC, very wooded, on a low wet weather creek, and if its not cooler it seems cooler. I'll try to take a picture and upload it so you girls can see.

Tonight I took a walk and decided I'm in love with the snowball bush. I've heard its happy in the hot sun, but I'm not so sure about its winter cover. I don't really have any other sunny spots in my yard to plant it.

I'll see if I can upload a picture on here tomorrow. :) Thanks for the help.