Village Pool - Central Portugal

Revisit August 2014

I made a surprise visit to the pool in Salgueiro da Lomba last August with new clients who have a  house in the nearby town of Avelar. They are an English couple from Brighton who plan to retire to Portugal soon.

I'm designing a pool for their property and was keen to show them this established pool built four years ago. The pool was in great shape with clear water and healthy plants, and seeing it in reality convinced my clients they were doing the right thing by installing a biological swimming pool as opposed to a chlorine one, with all the health benefits and especially the closeness to nature. 

Here are some snapshots from the visit.

From Chlorine Pool to Eco Pool - South Africa

If you have an existing chlorine pool it can easily be converted to an Eco Pool. This is a very cost affective option for those on a tight budget or an excellent solution if you have an under used or derelict pool.

Here are some photos of a recently completed pool conversion project in Cape Town, South Africa.
This lady owner was keen to stop using expensive chemicals and was very excited to see dragonflies attracted to the pool after just a few weeks. 


The design was very simple, a deep filtration bed was built in the paved area shown in the second photo. Water from the main pool is filtered naturally through this bed and returns to the main pool via a small waterfall. This provides all the filtration needed without loosing any swimming space in the existing pool.

Pool maintenance - looking after your pool

As the swimming season comes to a close and the water plants start to die back it's time to give the natural pool a tidy up. This involves easy tasks that anyone can do over a couple of days. The main jobs are cutting back the plant foliage to below water line, and giving the swimming area floor a vacuum. 


You can use a pair of garden secateurs or scythe to cut the water plants back but make sure you remove all the cuttings to prevent nutrients getting back into the water.

The pool vacuum is a specialist piece of equipment for cleaning natural swimming pools, here is a photo of the pool floor being cleaned. Unlike a chlorine pool you only need to do this task 2 or 3 times a year, once in Spring, then Mid Summer and finally at the end of the season. 

6 reasons to like an Eco pool

Chlorine-free so great for those prone to asthma and allergies.

Nature at eye level, swaying reeds, hovering dragonflies and fragrant water lilies.

Cooling summer swims or fresh dips after the hot tub.

A relaxed location for entertaining with friends and family. 


Imagine a pool that blends beautifully into the landscape.


Soft water which leaves your skin feeling healthy and invigorated. 

My first success

My first noteworthy pool was my show garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2001. Called 'A Swimming Pond' it was the first time a natural swimming pool had been seen in the UK by most people.

It was an immediate success helped by the heatwave London was experiencing that week, and many members of the public were encouraged to jump in and experience it for themselves, one lady took the plunge complete with floral dress and hat on, even though a swimming costume was on offer, she soon dried out in the sun.

The RHS judges gave us their verdict too, a RHS Gold medal and The Tudor Rose Award for all our efforts.