How to light Up Your Garden

When darkness eventually falls on your garden, it is certainly not time to retreat to the house; it is time to switch on the lights! During the summertime you can aim to spend as much time in the garden as possible and make the most of outdoor living.

Most outdoor lighting works on a low voltage system, which is safe, economical and easy to install. If you don’t fancy having to fiddle around with cables, there are plenty of solar lights to choose from and even oil lamps and candles.

If you are not sure what type of lights you would like, or are completely unsure of the effect you are hoping to achieve, why not pop down to your local garden centre and have a look round. Alternatively, you could have a walk round a housing area after dark and see if there are any ideas, which appeal to you.

Good landscape lighting design depends on good planning. Once you know where to begin, the whole job will be a lot easier and the finished product will be more enjoyable.

1. First of all you need to make a basic plan of your garden on a piece of paper, making sure that you include garden ornaments, trees, decking, water features, driveways, summerhouses, benches, tables, pergolas etc – if you don’t fancy doing this yourself, you can always get an expert to do it for you. MF
   
2. Always experiment first, before you fully install. Set them up in temporary positions to see what the effect is like. In the case of solar lights, oil lamps and candles, you can easily move them around with no wiring to worry about – remember that solar lights do not work well in partial shade.
   
3. You want to aim to create a gentle, even glow. Harsh lighting spoils the affect and can be very intrusive and glaring – particularly when you are entertaining. So try to avoid overlapping your light sources from different fixtures and avoid focusing light onto a hard surface, such as a wall.
   
4. As well as looking great, garden lighting also assists on a safety and security level. It can bring light to the edge of a patio, or decking, doorways, pathways and walkways, and any other area, which is masked in darkness.
   
5. There are several basic lighting techniques, which you can use to get the maximum benefit from your lighting:

• Up lighting – Can be placed at the base of a tree and angled up towards the branches. You can create whatever effect you wish by using one, or more lights.
  
• Down lighting – This gives an artistic shadow effect from behind an object by emphasising it in a stylish way. It can be used to light a wall, fence, or plants in the foreground.
  
• Path lighting – This can be used to light stairs, paths and narrow walkways. Lighting can be placed either on one or both sides to produce the desired effect.
  
• Highlighting – These can be used to emphasise sculptures, water features, specimen plants etc. Again you can experiment with one or more lights until you achieve the desired effect.
  
• Specialist lighting – In addition to the four main types of lighting effects, there are also a variety of specialist light fittings available; these include, pond lights and underwater lighting, which will bring the water areas in your garden to life.

When installing low voltage lighting, always check the size of the transformer, available watts on the system and wire thickness first, as this will determine how many lights you can attach safely to the system – if in any doubt always consult an electrician.

Creating the right lighting effect in your garden can make all the difference, so it is worth spending some time planning it properly to achieve the desired effect. Suddenly, it will seem as if those warm summer days are going on forever, enabling you to make the most of every spare minute outdoors.