Garden Lighting

Most of us put a lot of heart and soul into our gardens, and there is no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy your garden just because the sun has gone down. The variety of garden lighting available ensures that you and those who frequent your streets can enjoy the beauty of your garden in a whole new light at night time. There are several styles of garden lighting available, and there are some also some basic tips to consider when you light your garden up at night.

As opposed to landscaping lights, which might include your patio and any fish gardens or other accessories you have added to your design, garden lighting focuses on featuring aspects of your garden that are especially appealing at night. The great thing about lighting up at night is that you can get a different look by putting accents on the same tree or shrub, which is very different from the daytime where the tree may be unique but will still be uniform in appearance. Remember that when you are lighting your garden at night, you want to focus on a few aspects, and you do not want to light up your whole garden. You should use a minimal amount of wattage in your lights as well, and this will cut down on your energy costs and will prevent the effects of over lighting.

You may choose to use the garden lighting technique known as direct accent garden lighting. In the this case, a focused beam of light is shone directly onto whatever plant or object you want to be highlighted. The type of light you use will depend on the size of the object (or group of objects) that you wish to display. Halogen lights are the most popular type for direct accent lighting, and they can be purchased in a wide variety of wattages and beam widths.

Moonlighting is an effect that happens when your garden lighting is fixed above or in an object such as a tree and the beam focused downwards. The focused beam will shine down through the branches of the tree and create a stunning mosaic effect that will add a whole new dimension to your garden. You can purchase lights that are created  specifically to be attached to trees for this effect.

The opposite of the moonlighting technique is uplighting. A fixture is placed at the bottom of the tree or other arrangement that you wish to highlight and shone upward. Uplighting lacks the ground pattern effect of moonlighting, although it will create a beautiful view of an especially nice tree or shrub arrangement.

Remember, just because the sun has gone down does not mean that you need to stop enjoying the effects of your garden. Garden lighting allows your yard to be viewed in a whole new way, and the effects can be varied even further by using different techniques in your garden lighting scheme.