ILLUMINATING DESIGN IDEAS

I often say to potential clients: If your landscape budget is limited, then at least include beautiful planting and a stunning garden lighting scheme.

It’s true to say that these days, most houses have huge glass windows or patio doors, and with good garden lighting, we are almost seeing a second landscape scene as dusk turns into night. We can view the garden in a whole new way, and more importation we can actually see our garden. Window blinds and curtains are often rendered obsolete.

Most lighting we use these days is low voltage, LED lighting. It is safe, easy to install and cheap to run due to low power consumption.

A good garden lighting scheme is about accent lighting, illuminating key features (the opposite, in fact, of the inevitable security flood light that most people tend to have).

These are available with a warm white lamp or a cool white lamp.

There are several important elements in a good scheme:

• – Up-lighters to plant foliage, often done with the light source close by, affording an ‘accent’ effect’ particularly of large specimen shrubs.
• – LED flush mounted deck or paving lights, usually fitted in a row, around the edge of the feature.
• – Tree uplighters, touted both at ground level or at a strategic place within the upper canopy of the tree.
• – Underwater lighting, placed either on the bottom surface of the water feature or pond, or flush mounted within the walls giving lighting across feature pebbles as needed.
• – LED strip lights, best used where the strips are discreetly hidden, providing a downward glow to highlight a patio or wall edge etc.

Always make sure that any installation is carried out by a qualified electrician. They will ensure that your new outdoor circuits will have proper protection and issue you with appropriate certification (Important should you come to sell the house).