One of the best uses of LED lights in the garden is with water features. Lighting water features such as ponds and fountains creates a dramatic and beautiful scene at night. It is also important that safety be considered when adding lighting to any type of water feature to prevent the risk of electrocution. Traditionally, halogen lighting was used in under water applications and worked well.

However, halogen lighting does not last forever and when the lighting fails and needs replaced the water has to be drained if the lighting is underneath the water. It is not safe to go into the water to change the bulb because the wiring is still live even if the bulb has burned out. However, LED garden lights used under water last many, many years before having to be changed.

LED Garden Lights

LED garden lights can be used to create a seemingly endless rainbow of colors or simply dramatic white light. There are over sixteen millions color combinations that landscape lighting designers can create by simply using varying amounts of red, green and blue. The lighting underneath the water can be a rainbow of colors with white light dancing on top of the water with the use of LED spotlights installed around the edges of the pond.

Water features are not the only place in the garden that can be enhanced with LED lights. These lights can be used to light up pathway stones and create amazing effects that bring inanimate objects to life through the use of light that appears to be mystical.

LED lights are perfect for the garden and the homeowner. They provide low level lighting that is cost efficient in both the power that the lights consume and the longevity of the light bulbs. Homeowners can install these lights and enjoy them for years before they need to have the bulbs replaced.

-Sharon Chapman

An assessment of the current landscape is the first place to start when deciding to add lighting to the outdoor area. Are there areas that need added lighting to help provide security? Are walkways lit well enough at night so that guests can make their way from the doorway to their cars without falling? These are two simple questions that can get the lighting plan started.

Consideration should also be given to areas that are or could be used for entertaining. Perhaps those areas aren’t utilized after dusk simply due to lack of light. If there are water features in the yard such as ponds or a pool, do they need lights to help them stand out and be visible or should they have soft lights that turn them into artistic pieces as the lights dance off them to night.

Once the landscape has been assessed fully the outdoor lighting decisions are based on what type of light is desired. There are motion detector lights and flood lights that can be used for security. These light up the area with bright light and ward off unwanted visitors be they animals or people.

Pathway lighting can take the form of stake lights, embedded lights in walkway stones or recessed lighting that is installed in the ground near the pathway. These lights can be soft and subdued when placed close together or brighter when placed further apart. These are choices that are individually based and will show the homes personality when installed.

Spotlights can be used to display favorite plants or flower beds. These can be placed in front of the plants shining up on them or even above them shining down into the plant. Spotlights or uplights can also be used to showcase fountains or illuminate hedges and dark areas of the house.

Whimsical, fun lighting can be used in the garden area to add a magical touch to the garden. Angels, gnomes and fireflies are just a few of the options that are available in lighting choices. These can be created with embedded lights or can be globe lights.  The addition of these types of lights can be the final addition on a spectacular garden.

Outdoor garden lights allow the homeowner to bring their lawn and landscape to life through the use of strategically placed lighting throughout their yard. The homeowner can add as little or as much light as they desire and highlight any aspect of their yard.

-Sharon Chapman

Homeowners who do not have a pre-designed and installed outdoor lighting system can still enjoy the full benefits of outdoor garden lighting using any one of the many temporary outdoor lights that are available.

Tiki torches are one such way of providing mood lighting for outdoor entertainment. Not only do they provide atmosphere, many contain insect repellent to help keep the mosquitoes at bay. Tiki lighting is attractive for summer parties that are beach or luau themed and also make excellent lighting around patios and pool areas.

Another great temporary outdoor lighting scheme is the use of rope lighting. This type of lighting is similar to what is used at Christmas for decorations but is geared toward outdoor use and available in many more light colors. Rope lighting can be hung in and around branches of trees or hedges. Some rope lighting has a twinkle effect which creates the appearance of stars and is perfect for outdoor entertaining.

String lighting is similar to rope lighting with the addition of whimsical light covers. There is a wide variety of string lights available, everything from fireflies to palm tree lights. The choice of string lights can be based on the theme of the party or simply because the host likes the light.

Outdoor garden lights for entertaining can be taken down and stored when not in use or left up during the warm summer months then removed during the winter when most entertaining is indoors. Many homeowners like to rearrange or redecorate when they have different events at their home, the use of temporary outdoor garden lights makes this easy to accomplish with little effort involved.

Temporary outdoor garden lights make it possible for all homes to have the perfect mood lights when planning their summer evenings on the patio or deck. These lights are inexpensive and can be used over and over again without having to call a contractor to install them. Creating a relaxing and fun garden experience has never been simpler.

-Sharon Chapman

Selecting the lighting for a garden involves taking into account the various factors that influence the landscape. This is vital to creating a living space that is walk able while at the same time not so bright as to take away from the natural beauty of the yard.

The safety feature of the garden light plan is not one that can be ignored. Pathways, ponds and other water fixtures should be lit well enough so that there are no accidents. The lighting around these areas doesn’t have to be overpowering and can in fact add to the beauty of the water accessories and paths. Garden lights create a beautiful, reflective glow on water features while at the same time allowing them to be seen.

Outdoor garden lighting should be designed to create a mood. It shouldn’t look like New York City after dark, unless of course that is the look that is being designed. There should be enough lighting for socializing and visibility without being blinding. The use of up lighting and recessed lights will help to create different moods in the garden. Spotlights can be used to highlight areas such as flowerbeds or favorite garden pieces and create drama and beauty in the garden.

Garden lights that are stake lights can be used to line pathways, driveways or create designs that the homeowner wants to showcase. If there are night flowering plants that deserve to be highlighted, placing garden lights behind them will target them and display their beauty for guests to enjoy.

Garden lights don’t have to be designed with outdoor socializing in mind. A simple garden light plan can be the highlight of the landscape. It can be as simple as uplighting around hedges for beauty and security with pathway lighting leading to the house. The choice in garden lights should be built around the landscape and its intended uses.

When designing the garden lighting plan it is also important to take into account the various types of outdoor light fixtures available. Today there are garden lights that are modern and trendy or traditional and stylish. Homeowners can even find garden lights that are whimsical to accent their garden flowerbeds.

The bottom line in garden lights is to design a plan that flows with the design of the landscape and accents the home rather than overpowers it. Add to that the homeowner’s personal tastes and a garden light plan that is both functional and pretty will come to be.

-Sharon V. Chapman

Lights for the garden can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. You can add yard lights to help people see to get to your door or you can go into more elaborate details with spotlights and silhouettes. The choices are as wide open as your creativity wants them to be.

Pathway lighting is a good idea to include for both form and function. Pathway lights for the garden add safety and security by lighting the walkways in your yard. Pathway lights should also be included around any water features to prevent accidental falls. Lighting choices include staked solar lights, low voltage lights, pole lights, recessed lights, spot lights, moonstones and more.

In addition to pathway lighting, your lights for the garden plan should include either a post lamp or floodlight for the driveway. You and anyone visiting your home need to be able to see the driveway to get in and out of it safely without destroying your flower beds.

Sunflower Solar Light Photo by Crystal Church

For the garden areas itself you have many options that add ambience and lighting to your yard. There are many companies that have decorative lighting options such as fairies, gnomes, gazing balls, dragonflies and other garden lights that will bring your yard to life when the sun goes down.

Water features with added lighting creates a magnificent display of shadows that dance on the water. Using submersible and floating lights which are available in soft, subtle hues you can create an enchanted pool for your guests to enjoy.

Retaining walls and other stationary areas of the garden can benefit from the use of spotlights used for silhouetting plants or focusing on a particular tree or statuary piece in the yard. Using lighting techniques such as up lighting or down lighting you can bring light and life to the garden.

For security reasons your yard lighting plan should also include either floodlights with motion detectors or light poles with photocells to add light to dark corners of your back or front yard. This is helpful in deterring intruders from using these darkened areas to sneak up to your house.

Lights for the garden are as integral a part of your landscape design as pathway stones. Both should be included for safety and aesthetic reasons. Creating your garden light design is your opportunity to add your personality to your garden and make an outdoor living area to enjoy year round.

Dragonfly garden lights are available in both solar powered and electrically hard-wired lights. The popularity of dragonflies has always been immense. Various cultures believe different things about them. The Navaho Indians believe the dragonfly symbolizes pure water. Japanese warriors viewed it as a symbol of strength.

Whether you like dragonflies for their ancient meanings or just their beauty, they make wonderful additions to the garden and pool area. You can add dragonfly garden lights to bushes and hedges making them appear to be perched there.

Silver Mesh Dragonfly Outdoor Garden Lights from TCH.net

During the daylight hours the dragonflies will add an earthy decorative touch. When the sun goes down the dragonflies will glow with subtle light adding a charming touch to your landscape. If you have water features in your yard, such as a pond or pool, you can purchase floating, solar garden lights. As these lights float across the pool, you and your guests will be delighted with how they appear to glide across the water.

Dragonfly garden lights are also available that are decorative pieces, light up at night, and function as water sprinklers. In addition to being functional they are quite decorative, some are made using fiber optics which creates a color changing light at night.

These unique garden lights are available in string lights that give the appearance of dragonflies in flight, staked lights that can be grouped in clusters or placed strategically throughout shrubbery and as larger individual lights that stand alone.

Decorating with garden lights in the shape and style of animals or other objects is not a new concept. Fairies, angels, and garden gnomes have been garden favorites for many years. Often these are found holding gazing balls that light up at dusk.

Animal garden lights can also be seen in gardens in the form of turtles, frogs, ladybugs and many more. Garden light suppliers realized that decorating with lights is more than plain lights and have created lighting for every taste and personality.

Finding the variety of dragonfly garden lights that are available is as simple as a search of the Internet. You can order them from specialty shops, home and garden shops and craftsman who hand make them. Many local home improvement and home furnishing stores carry dragonfly garden lights.

Dragonfly garden lights are full of form and function. They bring beauty and light to your garden areas creating enchanted areas you and your guests can enjoy on warm summer nights under the stars.

-Sharon V Chapman

The simplest and most cost effective way to add lighting to your path is to use solar pathway lights. They are cordless, inexpensive, and easy to install. You can purchase them at the local home improvement store and install them in less than a day. Most are staked so installation is simply a matter of sticking them in the ground next to your pathway.

Once installed solar lights require very little maintenance. You will need to wipe the solar panels off occasionally if dust builds up on them. Battery replacement is every two or three years. Because the sun supplies the energy required to charge the batteries there is no monthly costs associated with operating them.

Traditional electric hard-wired garden path lighting is another choice. This is the most expensive option due to requiring electricity which needs to be installed by a professional. If using electrical lighting you can have them set on a timer to keep from having them on during the daytime.

LED lights are brighter than any of the other lights available. They can run from a battery source or be connected to an electrical power source. The lights give off a bluish tint and make an attractive addition to the lawn and garden area.

Moonstones are another option for garden path lighting. Moonstones are LED lights that are encased in a frosted cover giving the appearance of a moon stone. These can be used as path way lights or they can be purchased that are durable enough to withstand foot traffic. These create the path and light it up at the same time. Not only are they a safety feature, they are quite attractive as well.

Rope lights create a dramatic effect when used as garden path lighting. You can outline the shape of the pathway stones or the actual path itself. Rope lighting produces a low light that is ground level. This lighting is softer and less harsh than other lights.

After deciding on a lighting source for your garden path lights you need to decide on placement. Post type lights can be place at each path marker or every other marker, depending on how much light they emit and how the dark the area is you are lighting.

If you are using post lights that are eye level or higher, you may want to space them further apart. Perhaps one at the beginning, one midway and one at the end of the path, again, base this decision on how much light the pole lights supply to the path.

Garden path lighting should be a consideration when designing your landscape plan. Not only is it a decorative enhancement, it provides safety for you and your guests.

Westinghouse garden lights come in a wide variety of designs. There are designer series that allow you to create a centralized décor patter. Westinghouse garden lights are available as electric wired or solar lights.

Energy Star®, the rating given for energy efficient appliances and lighting, is incorporated into Westinghouse garden lights as well, insuring that you are using the most efficient outdoor lighting while at the same time adding elegance to your lawn and garden.

Outdoor Collections

The Riverbend™ Collection from Westinghouse features a textured rust patina finish on solid brass in black with water glass and tiffany accents. This collection is available in wall lantern, hanging pendant lights and post lanterns.

The Nova Scotia™ Collection is comprised of wall lanterns and a post lantern that are made of textured black steel with honey art glass and feature photocells for automatic on/off at dusk and dawn.

The Studenburg™ Collection is scrolling curve patterns available in either a vintage bronze finish on steel with clear crackled glass or a Florentine bronze finish on solid brass with clear seeded glass. This collection has a vintage look that never goes away. The Studenburg™ Collection comes in a variety of designs as well as traditional basics.

Westinghouse Crackle Glass Solar Garden Light

Westinghouse garden lights in the Olde Town™ Collection are reminiscent of the lamp posts from days gone by. Historic style combined with Westinghouse quality is showcased in these lanterns with curved top handles and stately bottoms with a pointed pinnacle. This collection includes a hanging pendent or a two-light lantern post in burnt sienna on aluminum with clear seeded glass panels.

The Village Manor™ Collection will transform your yard into a royal garden. Oil rubbed bronze on cast aluminum complements the seeded glass linen to showcase the natural feel of the outdoors. These are available as wall mounts or post top lanterns.
Westinghouse garden lights are also available in solar lighting systems. The solar lights are distributed through IDC. Westinghouse solar lights feature amorphous solar panels that allow for continual charging even on cloudy days.

The Bedford™ Collection is a two-piece solar garden light set perfect for landscapes. The lamps feature a hammered pewter finish and aluminum construction with a grid glass lens. The lamps use a natural white light LED bulb.

Westinghouse garden lights in the Kimberly™ Collection add a sophisticated touch to your outdoor lighting scheme. These solar path lights come in hammered pewter and stamped aluminum construction and a ribbed glass lens.

Westinghouse garden lights continue the tradition of the Westinghouse Corporation of continuing innovation and commitment to improving quality of life. From electric powered to solar powered Westinghouse garden lights have you covered.

-Sharon V Chapman

Down Lighting

Down lighting is the use of garden spotlights pointing down. This effect projects a pool of light onto the focal object such as a tree fountain. Down lighting can also be used to provide safety lighting for pathways or generally darkened areas of the landscape.

Cross Lighting

Cross lighting refers to placing the garden spotlight to one side of the focal object so that the light shines across the object. The spotlight can be mounted on the ground or attached to a building or tree.

Moonlighting

Using garden spotlights in clusters with lower voltage bulbs and attaching them in the top of a tree in order to produce shadows from the lower limbs and greenery. This produces a delicate, speckled light over a patio, path or driveway entrance.

Mirroring

Mirroring is an especially brilliant use of garden spotlights. Placed in pairs in front of a body of water and aimed at a feature in front such as tress or statues, the light reflects back onto the pool or pond creating a mirror of the object shined on.

Uplighting

Uplighting is the most common use for garden spot lights. It creates a more dramatic effect than other lighting techniques using spotlights. Uplighting reverses the daylight effect and provides a wider coverage of light starting from the bottom and going upwards.

Grazing

Grazing is used to play off a texture of surface of a feature, such as an artistically designed plaster wall. The garden spot lights are positioned at an angle very close to the surface to be grazed the emphasis is created by the strong shadow from the light.

Washing

Washing is a direct opposite effect from grazing. Washing uses garden spotlights to create an even coverage of light to define a particular space or create a backdrop for other scenery such as a fountain or garden statue.

Silhouetting

Silhouetting uses garden spotlights to create outlines of the object in focus by lighting the surface behind it. This is not the same as haloing or backlighting. The light source must be in the background shining through the object to produce the silhouette.

Spread Lighting

Spread lighting uses low level lighting from mounted garden spot lights with canopies attached to provide a circular pool of light to illuminate a pathway, low lying terrace, or plantings. This type of garden spot lighting differs from path lighting in that the light source itself comes from underneath a canopy.

Garden spotlights can be used in a variety of applications to highlight features of the garden or just add a dramatic effect to a previously unnoticed area of the garden.