We just got an above ground pool and I need some suggestions on what plants(periennals) would be good to put around the pool. I have medium size pea gravel up against the pool then a small grading slope away from it and need something to add around the pea gravel that can with stand bright sun most of the day. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi- I live in the Chicago suburbs and I have a home with grass, medium to large sized bushes (about 8 feet tall to 2 feet tall), and a few 30-40ft tall green leafy trees. I don't know the "types" of plants any of the above are, as I am pretty landscape ignorant! Anyway, it's getting hot, we're not getting much rain, and the grass is turning brown. So as far as watering goes, I don't care if my lawn turns brown, as long as it doesn't die. I read somewhere that one only needs to "deep water" their grass once a week in the evening so that the roots develop deep into the soil, but is this true? How does one define "deep watering" in terms of how long should I water an area assuming the typical sprinker that you just stick to the end of a garden hose? As far as my bushes go, should I water them as much as the grass (once a week for a deep watering) or do they need more care? As far as the 30-40ft. trees go, should those be watered more frequently than once a week or at all? Lately I've been just putting the end of a garden hose near the trunk of the tree and letting the garden hose run for about 10-15 minutes until the soil is very saturated but not puddling for more than 5 minutes. The trees are extremely expensive to replace so I've been watering them more often as a precaution Any guidance on this? Sorry for all the quesitons. Thanks for your help in advance! ualdriver