Lighting a Landscape

Just like a room in your house, the lighting of your landscape can illuminate some great features within it. Highlighting our favorite trees or shrubs or a whimsical water feature can bring attention to these areas when it is not daylight. Lighting is an important element that will extend your enjoyment longevity of your landscape. Consulting a Landscape Designer is important so that you can cover all the features within the landscape design. They can help you determine your needs, timeline, budgets and installation plans.

Experts acknowledge that lighting is essential for good landscape design. In fact, decided what and how to illuminate is equally important. Whether you are down-lighting, up-lighting, shadowing, accenting, diffusing or moonlighting your landscape, unique options are available. Determining how you are lighting also aids you in deciding where to light the landscape for example the pathways or patios might be best with diffused lighting options.

Where you need light within a landscape may seem obvious but will often change as the seasons change. Varying uses of the yard and tread patterns are created the more we are outside in the yard vs. using the fire pit and covered areas during cooler weather, for example. Also, less light is often needed later in the day in summer months. Accommodating these natural trends will make a more peaceful appearance and longer enjoyment as well as visibility to the landscape.

Some other important guidelines include:
Conceal the light source behind shrubs where possible, except when the fixture itself is a decorative element
Don’t over light – a little light goes a long way…
Be considerate of your neighbors – aim lights away from your neighbors windows
Be creative in using a mixture of lighting techniques for drama and excitement
Arrange an automatic device to turn lights on and off, such as a timer or photocell
Consult the Landscape designer for their thoughts and recommendations