Introduction to Garden Lighting
* A properly lit garden combines the effective lighting of driveways, pathways and steps with soft lighting of planted areas, enhanced by dramatic lighting of taller shrubs & trees.
* When thinking about garden lighting, don't forget to consider any lights fixed to outside walls of the house and garage/outbuildings and how the light from them will affect the planned garden lighting.
* Cabling to the external areas you want to light should be considered first, because trenches will need to be dug for ducting, which should be installed with draw-strings for later pull-through of cables. The ducting routes will be determined by the planned position of lights and is best done before the hard landscaping goes down.
* Pathways and steps can be lit using wall-recessed floor-washers and steplights. If there are no walls then consider using ground-recessed pathlights, postlights or spreadlights instead. If the pathways are lined by trees and/or shrubs, then by lighting these you might remove the need for separate pathway/step lighting because adequate light will be reflected back from the tree/shrub lighting.
* Ground-recessed pathlights are a discreet way of lighting Driveways but must be positioned along the edge of the drive to avoid them being run-over. They should be installed at 2.5m centres, alternating from one side of the drive to the other.
* Postlights can be used along Driveways but are prone to being driven into. Ensure that they are designed to project the light across the drive with 180deg beam pattern. The colour and finish you select should match the overall style of the garden and other fittings, where applicable.
* for long tree-lined Driveways, a great effect is to uplight the trees which will produce a dramatic entrance to the house. Light every other tree, alternating sides along the drive.
* for planted areas spike-mounted spotlights are ideal. They are fully adjustable and can be mounted on a long flex, allowing them to be moved around as the shrubs they are lighting grow. Select a dark finish, so they will 'disappear' into the planting meaning that you will see the illuminated shrub, rather than the fitting the light comes from.
* Be sure to use good quality exterior lights, as cheaper fittings are more likely to suffer from water-ingress and may only come with a short guarantee. Lights installed in the ground (eg. uplighters & recessed pathlights) should have a minimum water ingress rating of IP67. For undrained areas, which may be prone to waterlogging, use minimum IP68 rated fittings. Wall-lights, surface- or spike-mounted spotlights and postlights should be minumum IP65 rated. Porch lanterns can be minimum IP44 rated as they are in a covered area.
* Exterior lights, installed for effect, should have a colour temperature of 2700-3000K and use a high CRI (95+) LED in order to enhance the natural colours effectively. Exterior lights installed for functional purposes only (eg. floodlights to illuminate large areas) can have a cooler colour temperature of 3500-5000K and a lower CRI (90+).
* Except for lights fitted to the house itself, exterior lights should be low-voltage (either constant current or constant voltage) as this is safer if the cable is accidentally cut or dug-up. Low-voltage lights require a remote-mounted driver/transformer, which should be ideally be mounted in a dry environment under-cover. If this is not possible, mount them in a sealed, gel-filled box fixed to a post hidden within a shrub or against a wall. Never bury the mounting-box even if it is gel-filled, as this will still lead to premature failure of the driver/transformer.
* To create real drama in your garden, light selected trees using in-ground uplighters. All sizes of tree can be uplit effectively, using the appropriate light fitting. For tall, slim trees a narrower light beam will be most effective. For trees with wide canopies, use a wider flood-beam. Larger trees will need more than one uplighter to light it effectively. Very tall trees will need to lights, one at ground level and a second, bracket-mounted, half-way up the tree.
* Exterior security lighting should be treated as a separate issue, dependent on the security needs of the property. Care should be taken that it does not interfere with the garden lighting design by coming on at the wrong time and 'bleaching out' the dramatic effect.