How to Select Light Garden Lighting

Selecting the optimal outdoor lighting for you garden, improves its look and utility.

Gardeners starting or remodeling a garden need to take special care to provide ample lighting. Optimal lighting in a garden combines an aesthetic appeal that complements the landscaping, with a practical layout that adequately illuminates your garden. Low wattage bulbs, garden lanterns, small torches and candles are some of the best options available for subtle garden lighting. Choosing the proper lights for your plants also can provide a lighting schedule personalized for your plant's needs.

Instructions

1. Create a detailed layout of your garden on paper and label all of your plants; include their relative size (small, large, etc.). Roughly position outdoor lights on this blueprint of your garden. Walk around your garden with your blueprint to refine the layout and determine the best size for lights. Use larger free-standing lights for areas with tall foliage. Lower-wattage lights should be placed at ground level near your smaller plants.

2. Take panoramic pictures showing your garden's overall architecture, as well as close-up pictures of specific areas you want to light. Visit a garden shop with your blueprint and photos. Speak to a professional about which brands or styles of light fixtures will work best for a garden whose designer wants to use subtle lighting.

3. Choose lights with frosted glass that are more gold in color than white. These provide a softer glow that will adequately illuminate your garden with minimal glare. Consider using slightly stronger lights if you have many tall plants or shrubberies in your garden. A low-wattage golden floodlight placed at the base of a tree will light a large portion of your garden without being overbearing.

4. Purchase small tiki-torches for more remote areas of your garden. They are the best option for brightening the darker areas of your garden and some torches also have the added benefit of repelling bugs. Freestanding lantern systems cast a more even and gentle aura of light, and they come in many different styles, so it is easy to find one that fits your garden decor.

References

• Landscape Lighting: How to Select the Proper Landscape Lighting
• Your Water Garden: Garden Lighting