The basic rectangular pool, clear and chlorinated to death, is boring and sterile. ?EUR??,,????'??Water is life,?EUR??,,????'?? said Mannion, based in Arlington, Calif., ?EUR??,,????'??and yet a swimming pool is not.?EUR??,,????'??

Landscape designers strive to make the pool a less jarring element. One popular approach is to tie it visually, if not physically, to a nearby body of water, artificial or natural.

Mannion has put his toe in the water with a couple of projects. In one project, he designed a swimming pool with a submerged landing to hold three large pots. The pots are not sealed, and the roots of the plants?EUR??,,????'??+miscanthus grass, canna and dwarf papyrus?EUR??,,????'??+are soaked by the pool water. The chlorination doesn?EUR??,,????'???t seem to harm them, Mannion held. He points out that municipal tap water used to irrigate the garden is also chlorinated.