Your garden looks beautiful during the day. Making it look just as pretty at night is possible, with proper lighting. We must consider that light conditions the way we see and feel, therefore it is an important tool that we must consider. It is essential to make an effort to illuminate the exterior spaces as we do with the interiors, and thus they can be enjoyed not only during the day but also at night.
How to Light up your Garden
Gardens are an increasingly important space within a house. In its design, sculptures, paths, fountains, and eating terraces are usually used, so its lighting must be carefully planned, in order to create a functional, comfortable and at the same time beautiful space.
Divide lighting into multiple zones
- Work area: either for reading, barbecues, and other activities that we do in this space at night.
- Accent areas: either to highlight objects, sculptures, steps.
- Decorative area: an interest is created in a space by illuminating, for example lighting a wall or the outline of a tree.
- General lighting: provides light to a certain area, such as the entrance to the garage or a tennis court.
Tips
Many outdoor lighting techniques come from the theater, which seeks to create a special atmosphere. Unlike interior lighting, in a garden, you can decide what will be illuminated and visible, and what other areas of the garden will remain dark. Therefore, by means of light, interesting shapes can be created. This also allows the terrain to look completely different at night than it does during the day.
Placing a high spotlight can be a great way to illuminate a deck or path. However, it is recommended that the light be pointed downwards, that is, that the light does not spread too far from the surface to be illuminated. Otherwise, what should be a subtle lighting effect will feel like a security light.
Unless you use solar lights, lighting fixtures need an electrical panel, so you should think about where you can hide them in waterproof boxes. Sometimes there won’t be a shed or outdoor room where you can install these boxes, so consider hiding them in bushes or behind hedges.
The color temperature of all LED light sources must match. Warm white can vary between different manufacturers, so check the number given. While around 2800k provide a perfect warm light for indoors, a bit cooler is recommended in the garden – 3000k produces a sharp effect and brings out the color of the foliage.
It is always a good idea to hide electrical cables inside mesh-reinforced tubes. Protects accidental damage when digging or from animals.
All electrical connections must be totally waterproof. If you are spending money on a good quality outdoor light fixture, keep moisture out and damage your connections.
If you are placing a light in the ground, make sure there is enough drainage so that water does not pool on it.
If you are going to illuminate steps or steps on a path, illuminate each and every one with a dim light, so as not to dazzle and confuse the walker.
One point to consider, for example, is that the eye always goes to the brightest point, so care must be taken with excessive glare. You can use covers to facilitate this task.
A very common mistake is to illuminate individual features, for example a tree around here and another tree at 10 meters and nothing else. This can make the space look disconnected. It is important that lighting forces the eye to take a visual tour, not a series of disconnected illuminated elements. Successful landscape lighting builds a scheme using both light and shadow.
Different types of garden light
Work lights
It is a great explosion of light. It is high voltage and can burn plants if placed too close to them. It is used to illuminate an area that we consider of special interest.
Indirect lamps
These lights illuminate indirectly. That is, they can illuminate a tree, a plant, a wall, the ground, the lawn, and their bounce light illuminates the rest of the space diffusely.
Turn signals
Focus on one object. This option is used to highlight a statue or plant.
Led
LED lights are very popular today. They provide energy savings and come in different colors. Some models even have a remote control to choose the color of the lighting. Its use in pots is also very popular. You can also find many solar options, which represents a very important saving in electricity consumption and savings in the installation of cables.