Planning your Solar Garden Light Setup

Planning your solar garden light setup can be an easy solution to your outdoor lighting needs.

We will first look at what you want to accomplish. Then you will take a good look at your garden and pay special attention to the plants you've chosen.

Your off to a great start, maybe writing yourself some notes can make things easier. How about drawing a blueprint?

Plant selection is critical when deciding on lighting an outdoor garden. Choosing plants with the distinct qualities best suited for your garden will make your job much easier.

Foliage & Color

Take special note of low standing and high standing plants in your garden. Pay attention to foliage, texture and color, better yet, write it down.

Since darker colors tend to absorb more light, it may be necessary to supply this area with more lighting to properly accentate these rich, deep colors.

One way to approach this would be simply to install more solar garden light fixtures to add more brightness.

If most of your garden consists of lighter colored plants, less light may be needed to get the same effect.

Plant Textures

Very textured plants will also require more light to accentuate the plants' physical composition. Texture tends to emphasize shadows that can make your plants look awkward.

Adding more light to these plants will let their textures flow more smoothly. Make sure to position your outdoor lighting fixtures at an angle that will showcase your plant's best view.

Selecting The best Solar Lights

Not every solar garden light is created equal. Lets review the choices we have in our selection.

Decorative Solar Lights

These are ideal for lighting low standing plants. They come in all different finishes and styles. Find a good spot, drive that stake into the ground and your done.

Since these are decorative, choose a style that fits the look of your outdoors.

Recessed Solar Fixtures

These are great for uplighting lengthy plants without being noticed. Position them so that they are in direct sunlight during the day.

Since these fixtures are easily overlooked your plants become the main focal points in your garden.

Adjustable Solar Stake Lights

These lights are found in various colors to easily blend into your garden's design undetected. They are perfect for those hard to reach places since they are have a pivoting head.

Make sure the fixtures have a good locking mechanism so the pivoting heads cannot move out of the desired position once they are properly positioned.

Positioning Your Solar Lights

Positioning is easy because outdoor solar lighting does not require you to run cables throughout your landscape. Simply stake the light in the ground and your done.

Light Output

Solar lights should not be placed too close to each other. Especially with path lights, you don't want to create a airport runway look in your garden.

3 Solar Garden Lighting Tips

• Highlight any plants you think deserve some undivided attention.

• Spread light throughout your garden so that onlookers have a very good idea as to your garden's depth and layout.

• Position your fixtures so that light will spread out on the surrounding area allowing you to use fewer fixtures.

Don't make outdoor garden lighting more complicated than it has to be. Read up on garden lighting techniques to help you make it the way you want it.