African iris (Dietes iridioides) is well behaved, not messy and will hide those pipes. They'd eventually get too wide for that walkway, but might be a good companion for other taller plants near the pool. You might have to clip the football-shaped seed pods if you don't want volunteers, but otherwise, they're absolutely care-free. They do fine in sun or shade, wet or dry, hot or cold. Nothing seems to bother them. As a bonus, you can come dig as many as you want out of my yard for free. One clump can be divided into many plants, and I also have dozens (if not hundreds) of seedlings that can be transplanted. As an extra bonus, they're super easy to transplant. There's a yellow species, too (Dietes bicolor), but that one is a real slow grower. It took two years for divided transplants to start blooming in my yard. Although they grow to about the same size, the bicolor seems more dainty than the iridioides.

I wish I could remember all the names. Our Armstrong Nursery would get interesting ones from time to time and I'd just buy them. They are also easy to propagate so buy one and make 20! Some of the Salvia that come to mind that are in the yard: Greggii Hot Lips Golden (beautiful burnt orange) Mexican bush (this is the one the Dog is sitting in) Jerusalem Woolly Blue Curls There is also french/english/spanish lavender. Weeping blue atlas cedar (drapes over the waterfall) dogwood almond tree Thanks for the compliments. It's interesting to look at the early pictures to see just how much the landscaping contributes to the overall look. Here is a picture just after we started planting. Looks very empty in comparison to the pictures I posted above. Here is a link that might be useful: Salvia

As a general rule, plants with pretty flowers won't be an issue for your son since they are pollinated by insects as Rhizo commented. Grasses are wind pollinated as are many of the early spring blooming trees that have blossoms that aren't what most folks think of as traditionally pretty flowers such as pines and other evergreens, oaks, many maples, ash, and elm. You also may want to avoid plants with strong scents such as lilacs or Daphne since those can be irritating to those with allergies. You can probably get a list of specific plants that are known allergens from your son's allergist. Close to a pool you want to aim for plants that don't do a lot of shedding of flowers and leaves during the season you will be using the pool. A couple of general suggestions from someone with grass and other environmental allergies: If you or a near neighbor is mowing the lawn, close the house windows, and if possible do mowing when your son won't be at home. Also close up at the very least his bedroom during the spring high pollen season (and fall ragweed season if that is an allergen.) Minimize skin contact with grass or other allergens and wash up soon if there is contact. Get a HEPA filter for his bedroom so he has that 8+ hours without allergens and don't allow any pets to sleep in his room. If you do a web search for your state name and the phrase "soil test" you will probably get a place that does soil testing for homeowners, often a state university or cooperative extension. They will give you directions for taking samples. If there's nowhere local, Cornel University does tests from mailed in samples, but IME they are relatively expensive.

Right now I think I'm going to go with tomato cages/construction-grade black trash bags over them for the hibiscus, white bird of paradise, and banana plants (all the plants in the ground), and a frame of scrap PVC on hand covered in a plant blanket over the raised planter (it's about 30 feet long and 4 feet wide), though the only thing that should be in there is the butterfly ginger and bird of paradise. I plan on digging up the red tower orchid to replant later...unless y'all think I should leave it in the planter, under the blanket, and then transplant in the spring. My problem is that the soil in the planter has settled and I hope to add more over the winter (probably between 6 and 12 inches additional), so I'm going to have to dig up everything and raising it up to the new soil level anyway. I only plan on covering the plants when it's forecast to be near freezing...they seemed to do OK when it dipped to the low 40s overnight as long as it warms back up in the daytime. I'm not much of a green thumb so this is all a learning experience for me.