Garden lighting is an essential element to your outdoor garden design. Many people enjoy relaxing by their gardens during the evening hours; however, this activity is greatly hindered without proper garden lighting. Not only is your choice of garden lighting critical for the design elements of your garden, it is also practical. When the sun goes down and darkness descends upon your backyard, your garden area becomes unsafe. Choosing garden lighting is essential for ensuring that those who relax in your backyard during evening hours have ample light for seeing, walking, and enjoying the beauty of your garden. One of the joys of having a garden is gathering with friends during late night hours. If you have a pool, you will definitely want to ensure that the surrounding area is lit up and that there is a clearly lit path to the garden as well as the pool. This not only prevents accidents but also adds beauty as the waters reflect the glow of the lights. You don’t need to keep your backyard or garden area lit up as if the noonday sun has just appeared, but you will want to provide enough [more..]

Garden lighting design basics and outdoor electrical safety with IP ratings - itsyourestore.com. [more..]

Lighting your Water Feature Since we spend many hours outdoors in summer it makes sense to use lighting in your garden. In the contemporary garden the use of lighting has become increasingly important where, when applied correctly, it has the ability to create a whole new world once night falls. Outdoor lighting can be used to new create new dimensions and dramatic effects anywhere in your garden. This is especially so when lighting is used to illuminate moving water, the resulting effect can be stunning. While recognising the need to apply lighting to their water feature, many people struggle with how to position the lighting. Take into consideration that when it comes to creating your night-time wonderland that less really is more! Creating a sense of theatre through creating silhouettes and shadows is preferable to indiscriminately flood lighting an area. Although there are no hard and fast rules to the application of lighting to your feature, here we will guide you through some important considerations. Electricity Supply Since you probably already have a pump installed it is likely that you already have an outdoor power-point. All submersible lighting is low voltage but you will still need somewhere to plug in your transformer. If you do not [more..]

I was trying to devise my own innovative outdoor-indoor garden hybrid that uses no electricity from power lines but rather all natural so to speak. It is pretty much a regular plant outside but I would need a light for nighttime to save energy, but at the same time have the desired wattage. Is this the correct wattage and lighting for plants? [more..]

The work of interior designers professionals doesn’t stop at the back door – increasingly, interior design teams are expanding to offer specific garden design expertise. In this four-part collection of articles, “Interior Design Goes Exterior,” I rely on my years of know-how gleaned from collaborating with London’s finest interior design teams to explore the latest in garden design. This article discusses where and how to implement general, task and feature lighting – whether for a compact central London urban garden or for the luxurious and expansive grounds of a grand mansion outside London. Your interior design consultancy should allow exterior lighting to be controlled using a simple switch. Often the system will be attached to a daylight detector to deactivate everything during daytime hours. Your interior design team will also specify a timer to make certain that the lights go out at, say, 2am (neighbours in some London boroughs can be sensitive about light pollution). If your interior design consultancy implements a more theatrical and expansive illumination scheme, they might alternatively specify a dimmer system to allow for fine-tuning. Most London Interior Design consultancies will first need to decide which approaches to select for general, task and feature lighting, before [more..]

With the great trends toward using your yard as part of your house, more and more people are discovering how to best utilise their patios, decks, and gardens as dining or living rooms. These outdoor living spaces can be usable all year long in many areas. One of the challenges to using your outdoor spaces in this manner is lighting them. There are many elements in a well designed outdoor living space. A good arrangement of furniture, clear access to the inside of your house, noise levels from surrounding streets or properties, all of these things help determine how useable your outdoor space will be. But, even the best designed outdoor living space can be ruined if there isn't appropriate lighting.There are myriad types of lighting that you can use in your garden depending on the effect that you want to achieve. You can use spotlights directed at particular areas of the garden that you want to highlight to give the area a magical feel. Hanging lanterns are a nice option to string across a space or between trees. Strings of lights can be wrapped around tree trunks to create a unique effect. Pathways can be lit with lights that [more..]