I love my garden. I mean, who doesn’t love their garden? I have spent so much of my time weeding, watering, and planting everything just right. It is a point of pride for any homeowner. Even with all this time and energy invested, there was a detail I was missing that tied everything together in a way it never has been before. It turns out that adding some garden lighting really brings things to the next level. It seems obvious to me now, but I hadn’t considered it for the longest time. Why have a garden that I have worked so hard on only be able to be appreciated in the daylight?
Now, it is not as easy as just throwing up any old light and flipping a switch. There are a few things to take into consideration a nearly endless number of different lights, styles and brands you can choose to go with. First and foremost, you need to consider your power source and the restraints that might have on your selection. Buying 20 lights and having one outlet to plug into would not be good! After figuring out exactly how and where you’ll power your lights, there are some design choices to make. Is there a focal point you want illuminated or just some general garden lighting? Do you maybe want there to be a focal point on your favorite tree or water feature? Do you want the light to come from above or to come up from the ground? These are all up to your personal preferences and tastes. Once you have an idea of what you want it to look like, you now must dig through the endless number of light options that are out there. I will lay out some of the most standard options you have to pick from.
To start, we have floodlights. Floodlights cover large swathes of area and are good for generally illuminating a large area. These are the lights that are typically used on front porches, decks, and driveways. They can, however, also be used to light up your garden. These will be good if you just want some general light with no real specific focus. It will cover the whole area and you’ll be able to see everything clear as day. These are also simple to install. Just put one or two up, wire some power to them, and you’re good to go. You don’t have to worry as much about the exact direction they are pointing when installed. Just point them generally the right way and you will be fine. One thing to remember is these lights can be intrusive to neighbors so keep that in mind when deciding where to install them.
Next, we have spotlights. The difference between spotlights and floodlights is that these are much more focused. You could use these when you want to draw attention to a specific feature in your garden. It creates a focal point and draws attention you an area of your choosing. One of the nice things about spotlights is you can put them just about anywhere. They can be staked in the ground, or they can be hung from trees and walls. They give you a lot of creative freedom and design choices with your garden lighting and aesthetics. They also use much less power than a floodlight so there is battery or solar options which makes setting them up even easier. However, since the light is directed there does have to be some adjustments to get the light just right, but it is worth it to take the time to make everything look even and symmetrical. I have found that sometimes the spotlights I have stuck in the ground will shift with time and I frequently must readjust them, but it isn’t much trouble to get them back in place.
Now, the next category of lights I will just call “accent lights”. By “accent lights” I mean any smaller lights that can be used to add to the overall ambiance of your garden. The most common of these (and my personal favorite) are solar lights that can be used to mark a walking path through your garden. Now, solar lights can be placed anywhere but I feel they look the best when placed along the edges of walkways. It adds such a nice effect if you happen to be walking through your garden at night. There are solar lights that can be stuck with adhesive to different surfaces and will add nicely to the garden lighting aesthetic you are trying to achieve. People will also oftentimes stick these lights on steps to help illuminate them and make it a little safer to walk up and down.
Honestly, there are an endless number of potential lights to choose between. It might seem a little overwhelming and it might take some time to do a little research, but I know for me it has absolutely been worth taking the time to pick out what looks best for my garden lighting. By using a little effort, I have added something that I never realized how badly my garden needed until after it was all set up. A little light goes a long way. For more information, stop into one of our stores!
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