Jun 05 2009
Lights for the Garden
Designing your lawn and garden is more than creating a planting plan and installing some plants. A good design plan for your lawn and garden will include lights for the garden and pathways. Adding lights for the garden extends your living space from the inside of your home to the outside by allowing you to enjoy your lawn and garden even after darkness falls.
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.