Magical Effects Only Outdoor Garden Lighting Can Create

Do you love your garden? Taking pride in your hobby is a wonderful thing. Outdoor garden lighting is often overlooked in the process but it's a great way to make it really stand out.

Whats even better news is that garden lighting will make your garden look even better at night than during the day.

How you ask? Well one thing us lighting people always pride ourselves on is our ability to illuminate what we want people to see and keep everything else in the dark; literally.

Special Garden Lighting Tips For You To Use

The type of lighting you will need will depend on what plants you choose to display in your garden.

The distance of the fixture from the lit subject will determine if multiple low voltage lighting fixtures may be needed to create the desired effect.

When lighting any heavy green or darker colored plants higher voltage lighting may be necessary to achieve the desired result.

This is because darker colors absorb more light requiring higher voltage compared to lighter colored plants which refelect more light.

Use your garden's natural greenery to camouflage your fixtures. Outdoor lighting fixtures come in many colors including but not limited to green, black, or gray.

When planning your lighting design, test to see what your garden will look like from the viewing angle it was intended to be seen. A viewing angle further away may mean that more light is needed to get the best view from that angle.

Creative uses of outdoor garden lighting

Downlighting

Low lying plants will require lighting from above so that the light reflects off the top of the plants and can be easily seen.

This technique requires the use of downlighting to illuminate them. Downlighting is ideal for lighting flowers because flowers face upward.

Low voltage lighting is a useful source of downlighting because of it's compact size and ease of installation.

Uplighting

Uplighting is commonly used in outdoor garden lighting because its ease of installation and convenience.

The use of ground mounted fixtures is often used in lighting higher standing plants or shrubbery. Because they are mounted in the ground, these fixtures are great for scaling up the side of high standing plants.

Ground mounted fixtures especially stake mounted fixtures are easy to install and practical.

A creative idea is to mount the fixture behind your plant to create a silhouette effect in your garden.

Always angle your fixtures to shine away from your guest's eyes and use frosted lenses to minimize the impact of bulb glare.

Walls

Using the walls surrounding your garden can help to create a needed effect. Outdoor wall lighting is a quick way to make your landscape more interesting.

Uplighting a wall will bring out the unique texture and color of the wall which can be add as decor to your gardens design.

Don't worry about that plain wall either. Create interesting shaddow effects on your wall.

Direct your lighting up through the grasses or small trees to create a large shadow effect on the wall. The grasses and plants will block the light causing an amazing shadow effect.

Sillhouetting

Use plants or small trees with interesting stems or branches. Place fixtures behind your plants and trees and uplight your plain wall. This will create a wonderful silhouetting effect in you garden for a different look.

Garden Art

Make your pieces of art come alive at night. Incorporating art into your garden can really bring your personality into full effect. The use of uplighting, downlighting, or crosslighting will make it even more interesting.

Solar Lights

Don't make outdoor garden lighting a difficult task. The use of solar garden lights make it easy for anyone to install garden lighting without ever having to call an electrician.

Tree Lighting

Trees can become your best friend in outdoor lighting. Use them to hide and mount fixtures high above and create a smooth subtle fill light for your garden. Outdoor tree lighting can be tricky so consult with a professional before attempting this daunting task.

Path Lights

Path lights are a great way to make your low standing shrubs and flowers stand out. Make them a decorative part of your garden. They are a great way to draw attention to small shrubs.

So get the creative juices flowing and make lighting a part of your outdoor garden.