Landscape lighting can transform your entire property showcasing your home and lawn’s best features while maintaining a low-key presence. It adds so much beauty and elegance but it can also improve safety since you can see areas in the dark. Plus, think about the added value of security whether you are home or away on vacation or business. Landscape lighting can provide your property with an absolutely stunning backdrop 24 hours a day. Landscape lighting enhances both form and function in design for your landscaping.
Here are some considerations as you research landscape lighting in Tampa Bay from HGTV.
Define the purpose for landscape lighting
HGTV recommends that “before you invest in any landscape lighting, ask yourself what your purposes are for wanting illumination in your backyard. Perhaps you want to set a soft, romantic mood during the evening hours. Maybe you have a bench or a shadowy garden corner you need to illuminate for security reasons. A path leading through the garden may require landscape lighting to mark its boundaries. You might want to highlight some features of your backyard like a water fountain or pond”.
You’ll also need to set a budget of the project and work with a professional to give you pricing to achieve your goals.
Sketch your yard
After you have defined your reasons for wanting to add landscape lighting, sketch your yard. Include in the sketch existing lights, buildings, benches, trees and shrubs, as well as the vegetation and decorations in the garden. Each of these items will reflect light or absorb it. Estimate the height of each of the objects, especially the foliage.
Location of lighting
Match the reason for lighting to specific locations in your backyard. You may want to illuminate a bench along the path with a pole-type lamp placed behind it. A soft mood can be achieved by hiding landscape lighting under shrubs. A path may require a series of short stake lights along its border on one side or on both sides. A water fountain can be enhanced with a spotlight, and a pond can have soft lighting around its perimeter.
Effort
Next is how much effort do you want to expend? The landscape lighting that requires the greatest effort to install is 120-volt lighting. Wiring for these types of garden lights must be buried at a depth of 18 inches or encased in conduit to protect it from water. A licensed electrician has to install the electrical components.
Low-voltage landscape lighting for the backyard needs only an outdoor receptacle and a transformer. The transformer converts the 120 volts coming from the household line to a usable 12 volts to operate the lights.
The easiest landscape lighting to place in the backyard is solar lighting. This type of lighting has no cords to be hidden. It should be positioned in such a way that the photovoltaic cell in the lighting fixture receives enough light during the day to allow it to shine at night.
Install and enjoy
If you wish to highlight a single item in your garden like a statue, gazing ball or fountain, you should consider using a few landscape lighting fixtures with lower intensity bulbs. Place these at various angles and distances. A single bright light shining directly on the object will create harsh shadows.
Landscape lights that make soft spots of light are good for garden paths. Space the lights at equal distances along the path you want illuminated. Blue tinted lights allow for a moonlight-type mood in your garden landscape.
Now sit back, relax and enjoy the masterpiece with family and friends or just a quiet moment of you and nature.
Another resource for you is Landscape Lighting 101.
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