Spring lifts everyone’s spirits. ‘Tis the season to go out, reacquaint yourself with nature, and enjoy the fresh spring air in your garden. Because you’ll likely be spending more time outdoors — whether in the day or at night — why don’t you spruce up your garden with some outdoor lighting?
Benefits of Landscape Lighting
Below are some ways garden lighting can contribute to your landscape:
- Improve curb appeal at night – Don’t limit your enjoyment of your garden only during the daytime. With proper lighting, you can revel in the landscape even when the sun has set.
- Enhance safety and security – With sufficient illumination, you can avoid injuries from falls due to tripping. Doing this can also protect your plants and flowers from getting stepped on. Outdoor lighting can also help deter crimes, like illegal entry, since would-be criminals often steer clear of well-lit areas.
- Increase Outdoor Usage – Transform your backyard into a versatile location. Use it to hold outdoor parties even at night. Enjoy romantic dinners during dates, family events, and other activities all in one spot. The list of things you can do outside your home is no longer limited.
Landscape Lighting Ideas
Here are 6 springtime landscape lighting ideas to enhance the appeal and safety of your garden.
- Pathway Lights
Accentuate your outdoor paths with low-voltage LED (light-emitting diode) lights. This will not only improve the landscape at night but also prevents people, especially guests, from running into tripping hazards and walking on your plants and flowers. You can use garden or bollard lights to illuminate pathways. - Accent Lighting Fixtures
Landscape lighting can accentuate and highlight the best features of your garden. Let the accent lighting draw the attention of your guests to your favourite garden fixtures — whether it’s a statue, fountain, or a rare plant. Additionally, flowing water, ponds, and even pools can be lit from within, giving them a mystical and calming ambience. - Moonlight Effect
Moonlighting or sometimes referred to as downlighting is one way of adding a romantic and magical vibe to your landscape. The lighting fixture is installed at a high, semi-obscure location (like behind the leaves of a tree). This technique makes it seem as if the light is coming from the moon. Place your fixtures about 6 to 8 metres up on the tree and bulbs with a bluish tone. - Uplighting Fixtures
Ground fixtures that focus light upwards can accentuate walls, landscape features, the outlines of trees, and even your home. Uplighting is also ideal for spotlighting tall structures. Using golden amber uplights can give off a feeling of warmth and comfort. - String Lighting
You can do many things with string lights. Here are a few ways:
- Drape it over the pergola
- Wrap it around porch railings and posts.
- Wrap it around posts, railings, and the pickets of your fence.
- Decorate trees and plants like you would a Christmas tree.
- Hang them over roof garden walls.
- Make a canopy of lights over your lawn.
- Wrap it around patio beams and posts.
6.Make Smart Your Landscape Lighting Design
Technological advances have made it possible for you to manage your fixtures remotely. With a swipe of the finger, you can choose to turn on or off the lights, display or change the colours, and dim or brighten it. You can also place motion sensors for pathways for a cool and money-saving effect.
Benefits of Smart Outdoor Lighting
With smart lighting technology, you can:
- Automatically switch lights on and off – One common issue of having outdoor lighting is that it’s easy to forget to turn the lights off during the day — especially since they’re imperceptible under the sunlight. However, with smart technology, you can take advantage of sensors or a timer to automatically turn lights off at a certain time during the day.
- Do maintenance checks using apps – Take advantage of mobile applications to do preventive maintenance checks on your lights. Receive diagnostic information and adjust configurations through an app and keep your lighting in tiptop shape.
- Impress your guests – With a smart lighting system, you can program your lights to do a lighting show during outdoor parties or when they come over to visit. Do you want a romantic or a fun vibe? Setting the atmosphere will be at your fingertips.
- Control from a distance – If you’re going on vacation, it’s best to make it seem as if the house is occupied even when you’re not around. You can protect your property by programming the lights to turn on and off during specific times or doing it manually through an app.
Benefits of Hiring a Landscape Lighting Professional
Entrusting your lawn or backyard lighting design to professionals allows you to take advantage of their:
- Knowledge and Experience
Professionals have the necessary know-how to identify the type of fixtures suitable for certain areas of your lawn. They also have a better understanding of placement and can give advice regarding the latest trends.
Additionally, with first-hand experience of common problems, they can help you set expectations, take preventive measures, and offer advice on how to avoid or address them. This can save you time and money on repairs and replacements.
- Safe Installation
Landscape lighting involves the handling of complex wiring, more so if you’ve opted for a smart system. Equipped with the right certifications, professionals can safely handle and maintenance processes as well as design a reliable system that can withstand most, if not all, weather conditions. Doing it yourself or trusting non-certified individuals may seem cheaper, but this can backfire on you in the long run.
Keep in mind that experts know how to minimize electrocution or fire hazards. They take into account various factors that can contribute to such incidents and take measures to prevent them while prolonging the life of your fixtures.
- High-Quality Fixtures
DIY fixtures are often made for easy installation. However, there’s a risk that these may not be as durable as more complex fixtures. Since professionals take the safety and the lifespan of the system into consideration, they use and recommend high-quality products that will not give you any problems.
Professional technicians also provide warranties, so you can rest assured that they will choose products that can withstand the test of time.
If you’re ready to start working on your spring landscape lighting, contact Augusta Green Sprinklers. Consult with our skilled and experienced technicians so we can design a feasible and safe system for your landscape. We are ready to assist you with your landscape lighting concerns. Call us today at (416) 227-1666 for your free estimate.