Nowadays, many homeowners have a norm of retreating to their gardens after a long day of work. However, to enhance their comfort when the Sun goes down, they fix their outdoor spaces with the necessary garden lighting.
This installation is a real art form that requires the services of a professional. When you have a more extensive garden, the design expert transforms your garden into a point of interest. With this expert’s help, you will avoid any light that can be a nuisance on you or your guest when taking a rest.
When you light up your yard in an ideal manner, the light gives it a subtle mix of matching lights, increases visibility, and brings the garden to life during the night. Besides, garden lighting improves the way your garden illuminates, breathes, and feels. In this guide, we will share seven helpful garden lighting tips. Also, we will give some practical garden lighting advice.
Seven useful garden lighting tips
Are you planning to fix your garden lighting? Then, the following are some helpful garden lighting tips.
#1. Think long term
Before your team starts to fix the garden lights, ensure they consider the changes in your area’s seasons or weather pattern. Also, they should have an idea of the trees you have planted on your farm and know which will experience rapid growth in the coming month. And because this light becomes part of your garden, it is good to know its effects on your plants.
#2. Identify key features in your garden
Before you start fixing your garden lighting, it is a requirement for you to look out for all the features in your garden you want to enhance, like trees, a water fountain, steps, or any facility like an old shed that you would like to keep it in the dark. Your best garden lighting should use a combination of fixed and flexible lights to accommodate any plant growth or a change in season. When your lighting is proper, it enhances all the unique features in your garden. As a result, each time you are in your garden, you can’t help but stare.
#3. Less is more
Any homeowner needs to view garden lighting as a subtle art. This art enhances the trees, illuminates your path, and gives your garden the ideal nighttime visibility. Unlike inside your house, where enough brightness is needed, garden lighting does not require that kind of shine. All that you need for your garden is a small path lighting that is not very bright and specific spot-lights mounted on trees or even underwater for your fountains and ponds. It’s also good for you to note that each light is in its ideal location, designed to give you the best result.
#4. Go for energy saving bulbs
If not selected well, outdoor lighting can add an extra cost to your power bill. However, the cost can be minimal if you can make use of efficient lighting methods like solar. Solar outdoor light will charge during the day and provide you with adequate lighting at night without inflating the initial cost you incurred during installation. In case you are using electricity, ensure that you purchase the LED outdoor lamps that are proven to use less energy. You will also be guaranteed to save money if you keep your lighting lamp off when you are not using them.
#5. Keep safe
Electricity does not do well outdoors unless it is correctly fixed by a professional electrician who ensures the wiring is intact. Garden lighting should be well-fixed to guarantee the safety of your pets, kids, and visitors, even in cases of adverse weather changes. That’s why it is not advisable to plug in your garden lamps by running an open lead from your main house.
#6. Budget
Before you start working on your garden, ensure that you have a workable budget. Professional lighting designers advise homeowners to set aside 5% of their initial cost of designing their garden. With this kind of budget, you can make your garden illuminate when it gets dark.
#7. Adequate planning
Any lighting designer will attest that a successful outdoor illumination project starts by laying out a plan that entails reviewing your garden’s overall space. However, the key to adequate garden lighting is to create a seamless flow of light between plants, hard materials, and your house. To achieve this, request your electrician to place all the required electrical cables in the right places they will be needed. Also, engage a professional electric contractor to help you choose the ideal fittings that suit your garden. When you plan adequately, you are in a position to select the best lighting design that will work well with your garden features.
Useful advice
The following are some helpful advice that will help a homeowner keep their installations operating effectively.
- Any homeowner with an outdoor space should know the importance of keeping any tripping hazards well illuminated. More so on areas that have steps and low walls. When your recessed lights are working well, they will help you reduce any incidents that may cause an obtrusive risk.
- Before you implement your design plan fully, it’s advisable to think carefully about the best locations your electrical cables can pass. Your lines should not interfere with any other activity like lawn mowing. This action will protect your family from unwanted risk.
- It is also essential to keep your lamp parts clean. When clean, they disperse maximum brightness that keeps your garden lighting. Wiping your lights, flange, and reflectors helps you maintain your garden lighting to its initial set up.
- When choosing the best options for your garden, choose the one with a specific design best suitable for your outdoor use. Nonetheless, go for the IP rating products to guarantee safety against any water ingress in the cables.
The Takeaway on Putting These Garden Lighting Tips to Work for You
As the popularity of garden lighting grows day by day, it is advisable for any homeowner setting up garden lighting to avoid creating too much glare. Also, it is vital to keep your lights away from the ground, illuminating seating areas without glare. Likewise, avoid lights that are sunken above you and pointing their light directly upwards.
She has a B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education/English and a Spanish Minor. In addition, she holds a Certificates in Natural Health and Herbology from accredited programs. She pursued these natural wellness certifications due to her love for herb gardening.
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and two rescue pets a sweet toy fox terrier and a cat who showed up one day and moved into the house. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
