Hello! I recently moved to a new house with acreage. The property has a lot of great features, but everything is a little dated and could use some TLC. It has an in-ground pool and we'd like to update the patio around it in the next few years. Hoping to make it more functional for us and guests by expanding the pool patio so there is more space for pool furniture (lounge chairs and small table/chairs). It is currently fenced in with a green chainlink fence, which will eventually be replaced. Not sure what type of fencing we'll pick -- I'd love something more solid and attractive but admit that it's nice to be able to look out on our land and not have anything blocking the view. I love gardening and we are hoping to get chickens next spring. I've scouted out the best place for a garden -- it's relatively flat, plenty of sun, etc. I've sketched out lots of ideas for the garden. But I'm struggling with incorporating the pool and garden area since they'll be near each other. Or perhaps I'm going about this all wrong -- maybe they don't need to be incorporated? Worried our yard will look cluttered with different elements if I'm not careful. I definitely want to keep the spaces defined -- I don't want to bring the garden into the pool area.

Any ideas/advice/feedback on making the pool area and garden look aesthetically pleasing would be amazing! We are in the midwest. The house is a cozy cape cod and we are surrounded by fields, woods, and pastures. My husband is drawn to what I guess is a "European" garden aesthetic, which you'll kind of see in my drawing below. Thanks in advance!

This is an aerial view of the house and the pool/future garden spot.

This is my rough idea for adding the garden, incorporating it into the pool area. I thought an arbor with a gate leading from the pool patio into the garden would be pretty.

-Need to keep the garden where it is in this photo, or at least somewhere near there. I was very thoughtful in the placement, as it won't block any views of the acreage.

-Brown sections = low raised beds; beige sections = walkways through the garden

-Our chicken coop will have an attached, roofed run

-Not entirely sure I have the scale right, but you get the idea!

The pool as it currently looks (minus my drawing and the diamond walkway).

This isn't *exactly* what I have in mind for the garden, but I like structured, low raised beds and defined walkways. Just to give an idea of what I sort of have in my head. I will need room for herbs, vegetables, raspberry and honey berry plants, and would like some room for a cut flower garden. Definitely will incorporate the chicken coop and run into the garden so I can utilize the chicken poop as compost. Will fence the garden, but not sure if it will be a low or taller fence. Deer could be a problem but trying to avoid impeding any views from the house as much as possible.

**Not sure who to give credit to for this photo, but I borrowed it from hopeelephants.org**