It’s one thing to enjoy a view of your landscape during the day, but it’s something else entirely to be able to experience it once the sun goes down. We spend a lot of our time in our outdoor space in the evenings, dining and entertaining. Imagine the ambience you could create with outdoor lighting.
Finding a lighting professional with superior design skills and technical knowledge will not necessarily mean looking for an electrician or a lighting retailer. A professional landscaper experienced in outdoor lighting will have the design experience plus the technical knowledge you need.
With all the options available on the market today, comes more decisions.
From LED, to halogen and fibre optic, it’s important to know what’s right for your individual landscape design.
Although halogen is still one of the most widely used types of lighting, LEDs are now becoming more popular thanks to raised consumer awareness of their energy efficiency.
LED lighting systems work well as they are cool to touch and don’t have globes that need constant replacement. An LED fitting has thousands of hours of lighting power and uses significantly less energy, up to 90 percent less. Most important when considering the overall investment of the system.
The next important step is to consider – what are the best elements to highlight? Think wall lights, path lights, step lights and in ground lights. You need to consider lighting your way as well as highlighting your features. Lighting changes in levels is important whether it be to steps to light the treads or a change from paving to decking for example. Uplighting feature trees creates a dramatic effect. Placing a light fixture 10 to 15cm away from a wall will illuminate and highlight textured and coloured walls beautifully.
Some surfaces have natural reflective qualities, such as glass, stainless steel and polished stone and these can be emphasised with good lighting. Moving water can also produce a dynamic effect when lit.
With planting its best to keep the lighting fairly subdued, however be careful not to have too many black spots in the garden or your eye will be drawn these areas. Architectural plants such as Dracenas, Agaves and Yuccas can be lit from behind to create a silhouette or alternatively from in front to create shadows upon background walls. To highlight dense planting place up lights every 1.5 to 2 metres this will give a soft glow and outline foliage.
