by Elizabeth Curtis

Created on: August 01, 2008

Swimming Pool! The real estate listing practically screamed out the little house's main feature. While a pool was not something my husband and I were looking for, we decided to check out the house. What we found in the back yard of our future home was a round, vinyl-sided, above-ground swimming pool. Only 3 inches of greenish-brown water remained at the bottom of the pool due to the large hole in the side wall. The pool was anything but a selling feature for the home. Still, we liked almost everything else and made an offer on the house.

Tip #1: Get someone else to remove the above ground swimming pool for you! We conditioned our offer on the owners removing the pool prior to closing. We were just moving to the area and had no idea how to get rid of the eyesore or where to take it. Today, we could simply place an ad on Craigslist or Freecycle that we had a free slightly damaged pool if someone wanted to come get it. Whatever it takes, get the thing gone. If you really want to get rid of it yourself, I can't help you.

Well, the pool was removed and we moved into our first house. In the back yard, the once unsightly mosquito nesting area that was generously called an above-ground pool was replaced by a beautiful beach. A white sand circle, 15 feet in diameter sat proudly amongst our centipede lawn. The sand had been used to create a level surface for the pool. It was pristine. If we had had children at the time, they would have loved it. But no, we had to try to do something useful and creative with this area.

Tip #2: Turn the perfectly round area left after removing the above ground pool into a beautiful garden spot. This was the first piece of ground I ever owned. As the daughter and granddaughter of gardeners, I had to plant something. I bought bags of topsoil and manure. My dad came and tilled them into the sand. We bought more bags of topsoil and manure. My dad came and tilled them into the sand, also.

Tip #3: It takes ALOT of topsoil and manure to turn a 15 foot disk of sand into a garden spot. I'm talking a truckload of topsoil. It was amazing how that sand seemed to eat up the beautiful dirt we put into it. Finally, I was able to plant my flowers. I planted and planted: zinnias, marigolds, whatever I thought would look nice. My beginner flower bed never looked particularly gorgeous, but I was gardening, right?

Tip #4: Pay attention to the location of the above ground swimming pool before you decide to rehab the area after its removal. Did I mention that my

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