Uses and Style of Garden Lighting

For dramatic style and effect garden lighting has become almost an art form. Knowing where to put subtle lighting as opposed to dramatic lighting can create effects that can lead to awe inspired compliments.

Inexpensive solar lights placed at the garden's edge or within flower bedding can illuminate the beauty of the blooms and give the garden depth. Solar lights are also environmentally friendly. They can also be moved easily until you find the right configuration for your space.

String lighting added to tree limbs can give the tree an eye catching appeal especially in winter months when it is barren of any leaves.

Floating solar lights added to a pond or swimming pool give an ambiance to a well lit garden. There are several styles available including balls and lily pads.

Up lighting placed at the base of a tree or structure such as a statue can give a dramatic effect as well as add security to the area.

Down lighting placed on the eaves overhang of a house can give not only security but highlight the bushes, shrubs, and plants that surround the home.

Recessed lighting can illuminate from the ground up and can give safety to walkways, stairs, and accent smaller plants from beneath.

Overhead lighting can be used to provide a focal point on a patio or deck to a table or seating area; and/or, container garden that you have used to define the space.

When placing lights among plants be sure to consider how much (if any) heat the lights might create. Some plants may not be able to tolerate heat producing lights. Check with your nursery or lighting specialist if you are not sure about the correct lighting for specific garden areas.

Garden and Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Garden and outdoor lighting can extend the use of the garden into the evening, as well as providing the reassurances of safety and security for the outside areas of the home. In recent years fashions have moved away from garden lighting being limited to the single halogen floodlight set high on the rear wall of the home, throwing a uniformly bright illumination over the garden, or the functional bulkhead light fixed to the side of the front of the home's front entrance, but when fitted with a suitably adjusted sensor, these lights will still have an important role to play in an outdoor lighting system for home security reasons. Preferences however, have moved towards a more planned lighting system for the garden.

Once away from the house, an important first consideration is t he electrical supply to the lighting system. Mains voltage lights will need to be run through armoured cables to each light and run back to the consumer unit in the house. This will need the skills of a suitably qualified and certified electrician. The alternative is to install lights using a low voltage system running from a transformer in the house.

To illuminate garden paths or the edges of gardens, fixed bollard lights can be placed at intervals along the paths, and if the paths or garden allows it, perhaps including a taller lamp-post. These are available in such modern styles as chrome with glass lenses or in the traditional Victorian "gas lantern" style and they will give a lower, more comfortable, but still fairly general level of illumination than the main halogen light. One or a number of lamp-post lights can also provide for a more elegant lighting of the garden's dining or relaxation areas.

Favourite feature shrubs and trees can be high lighted with the use of movable spike spotlights, which can be easily moved from time to time to give some variety in the garden lighting. Trees and trellis features can be highlighted with nets or strings of smaller bulbs. Ground lights set into the lawn in a line can be used to lead the visitor's eye towards a garden feature, or when they are set just above the ground, can be swivelled to give a more directional light.

Solar powered lights with combined rechargeable batteries are also available. They come in a range of styles and can be used close to the house for zero cost illumination well into the night.

In recent years many of these styles of garden lights have become available as environmentally friendly, low energy lighting, and replacement low energy bulbs are very easily available for older light fittings, so the garden can be enjoyed in to the evening at minimum cost to the pocket, and to the environment.