Lighting plays a key role in your landscape scheme. It not only helps keep your property safe and secure but also adds drama and sets the tone for your outdoor space. Here is our complete landscape lighting guide to help you incorporate light into your outdoor space.
Landscape Lighting Ideas
Before you get started, you may want to consider how and where you’d like to use landscape lighting. Some popular landscape lighting ideas include:
- Your Home: Homeowners are adding nighttime curb appeal to their houses with lighting. When placed evenly along the foundation, you can draw attention to key elements of your home such as porch columns, cupolas, dormers, and gables.
- Lovely Trees: You can really add drama to your property by using lighting on your trees. Regardless of their height, lights can be placed strategically at the tree’s base, or even installed in the top area on the trunk to cast light downwards. Downward lights don’t necessarily have to highlight the tree itself, but instead can help illuminate areas of the garden, or your outdoor entertaining space below.
- Pool: Lighting along paths, in seating areas on the deck, and in the surrounding garden beds in your pool area can create a first-class hotel look ideal for entertaining.
- Entertaining Area: Your deck, deck steps, and special spaces like your gazebo can be brought to life with lighting used for task work, to set moods, for safety, or to highlight architectural features.
- Garden Lights: Draw attention to light blooming flowers, add texture by showcasing a pretty shrub, or add more colour at night by showing off your annuals or urns.
- Fences and Walls: This light can be installed for practical purposes, but can also be used to create texture. For example, light cast on a stone wall creates interest with shadows, while lights on fence posts help to highlight your property’s perimeters.
- Focal Points: Highlight your favourite features like your fountain, an arbor, or something more whimsical such as a hammock or tree swing.
Want to brighten up your home? Landscape lighting can help to enhance your curb appeal. Contact our team at Lane’s Landscaping today to see how we can help!
Landscape Lighting Design Guide
Once you have some good ideas, you can use this landscape lighting design guide to layout your lighting plan:
Trees
Recommended Lighting: Well, bullet, or floodlights
Installation: For trees under 20 feet, choose a few 20-watt up-lights. Trees upwards of 50 feet will need strong bulbs of 35 to 50 watts and more likely three to five up-lights. When lighting from above, avoid crossing the beams. For ground lights, be sure you include the trunk, or the leaves will look like they are floating.
Planting Beds
Recommended Lighting: Canopied garden lights
Installation: Space them out by at least six meters in large gardens. This allows the eye to take in the plants, without flooding out the focus.
Home Façade
Recommended Lighting: Bullet and wash lights
Installation: A 12-degree beam for bullet lights captures the details nicely. If you want even more light, only use soft wash lights, or else your home will appear over-lit.
Garden Wall
Recommended Lighting: Well, bullet, or floodlights
Installation: In this case, the lights should be placed closer to the base to highlight the texture.
Focal Points
Recommended Lighting: Flood, bullet, or wash lights
Installation: Aim two or more lights at the object depending on the size. In this case, you can cross the beams to avoid creating harsh shadows that take away from the focal point.
Landscape lighting is the perfect way to add an additional garden feature to make your property more enjoyable at night.
Interested in installing some landscape lighting to your home? Look no further! Contact our team at Lane’s Landscaping Supplies today to learn more!
Sources:
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/landscaping/21017967/all-about-landscape-lighting