Garden Living

Features

Let there be light!

With summer only just upon us it seems to be tempting fate to talk about lighting up your outdoor space! But the reality is that with the growing trend to view the garden as an extension of a home’s interior living space, people are looking to employ lighting in their outdoor room not just during the darker winter months but year round. And just as we are all familiar with the use of lighting techniques in the home’s interior - where effective lighting is no longer purely a practical function but rather is viewed as an integral element of the overall room design - so too are we witnessing garden lighting becoming an increasingly important element of the total garden landscape.

Lighting can be used to control which features are highlighted in the garden, drawing attention to key focal points and amplifying their impact. Just as we may vary the lighting in different rooms in our house, so too can we adapt the lighting effects in the various “rooms” within our outdoor space, to create a unique ambience for each section of the garden. Since the average garden occupies a larger space than most interior rooms, the magic of creative lighting can often achieve even more dramatic results.

Practical lighting

There will be areas within the garden where you need to project more light for practical reasons. Practical lighting needs can be divided into the following categories:

•  amenity lighting: this is where lighting is introduced for safety and practical purposes, so you may for example install a light on a drive to help move shopping or children from the car to the house

•  task lighting: when you have a particular task you regularly undertake, task lighting makes it possible to carry out that specific job, examples would be cooking on a barbeque or fetching objects from an outbuilding

•  access lighting: simply allows safe access around the garden by lighting up paths, steps, doors and water

•  security lighting: you may want to consider installing security lighting as a deterrent to opportunist burglars

Creative lighting

Ever set foot in a garden and immediately felt a certain ambience? Clever lighting will most certainly have had a major role to play in helping to encourage the desired atmosphere and will have been used to subtly enhance the planting, garden features and architecture, injecting a real sense of drama.

Lighting effects

There’s a whole host of lighting methods which can be employed in the garden to achieve a range of different effects.

Some of the most popular lighting techniques to be found in the outdoor room are:

•  downlighting: light is directed in a downward direction from a structure to provide a pool of light on a surface or feature below. Used to provide lighting to fulfil safety and security functions as well as for general appearance

•  uplighting: light is thrown upwards from the ground (or a wall, structure, branch or from lights beneath the surface of the water). Uplighting can be used to achieve a variety of effects including washing and grazing. Grazing is when light is placed at an acute angle from a position near the surface of a feature to cast a strong shadow to emphasise its texture / colour. It is mainly used to light up stone or brick walls. Washing is when an even coverage of light is used to illuminate a wall. Washing helps to define a space and creates an intimate atmosphere

•  crosslighting: light is placed to the side of the subject matter so that the light travels across it. This is frequently used when lighting from the side will emphasise texture and form more effectively than lighting from the front, for example when illuminating a light coloured statue or an urn which would be flattened by frontal lighting

•  accent lighting: an intense beam of light is focused on a subject to make it stand out (various positional techniques can be used ie uplighting, downlighting or cross lighting). Accent lighting emphasises individual plants, focal points or other features

•  spot lighting: quite often this is the same thing as accent lighting but the light is placed at some distance from the subject to be lit

•  moonlighting: this is when trees are used as a lighting platform to create a dappled lighting effect on specific garden features and areas below. In smaller gardens and balconies / roof gardens, a moonlighting effect can be achieved by placing spot lights on walls or structures above climbers or planted urns using the foliage to create a shadow on the ground below

•  shadowing: by placing a spotlight in front of a plant or small tree the light can be shone through the foliage to project a shadow onto the wall behind. Shadowing is usually directed at a vertical surface but can also be used for paving by using wall mounted spotlights to cast shadows of climbing or containerised plants

•  spreadlighting: low level lights are used to provide a glare-free, usually circular pool of light for a path, step, patio or area of low planting. The drawback of this type of lighting is that to be effective, the lights themselves have to be visible.

Pick a power source

Regardless as to whether you are installing practical or creative lighting, and no matter what type of lighting you choose – all lighting requires some form of power source. There are many options to choose from but essentially they fall into the following categories:

Fire : for centuries, fire has been used to introduce light into a variety of situations. The flames can either be produced by candles or oil / gas burning lamps to create a calm and relaxing atmosphere - whether you’re lighting an inside or outside room. The raw flame of a candle or torch immediately sets the scene for an intimate and inviting social gathering and magically transforms an outdoor space in minutes. Snaking a row of candles along a garden path or hanging them in delicate glass jars from tree branches provides an inexpensive means to adding some instant drama to your garden party. But beware, although torches are designed to withstand a reasonable amount of wind you need to respect the potential fire hazard they represent.

Solar : with the UK ’s growing commitment to energy conservation and eco friendly products, solar is becoming an increasingly popular choice. Solar powered lights offer the benefit of portability and ease of installation. But the obvious downfall lies in the unpredictable nature of the British climate – so be prepared for some inconsistencies in the energy output on a cloudy day!

Battery operated and rechargeable : is another form of wireless lighting which also offers excellent portability.

Mains powered : this represents the most permanent type of outdoor lighting and the most expensive as it involves digging trenches to carry the cabling which is taken directly from the power lines through buried conduits. Remember mains power should always be installed by a fully qualified electrician.

Low-voltage units : these also connect to the electrical system of the home but are fitted with a transformer to reduce the electrical current to a safer supply of 12 volts – a level which is incapable of giving a fatal shock. Low voltage units are less durable than line powered fixtures but ideal for a small outdoor space where only short cable runs are required using flexible rather than fixed cabling. Wherever electricity is employed to power lighting always ensure you install a circuit breaker or electrical trip.

Types of light

The type of lamp or light source (light bulb, tube, globe, reflector lamp or capsule) will affect the “colour” of the actual light that is produced. Everyone is familiar with the yellowy light associated with streetlights and security or floodlighting – this is due to the use of s odium bulbs which emanate a light source with a yellow tinge . Halogen lights produce a very strong, bright white light with an enhanced efficiency and generally provide a much longer life than ordinary incandescent lamps. Their compact size and colour - which flatters the natural colours of flowers, foliage and building materials) have made them extremely popular in display spotlighting and "high tech" luminaries but they tend to be too harsh for reading or dining and can also produce too much heat for some situations.

Compact fluorescent and lighting based upon light emitting diodes ("LEDs") are also becoming popular choices for the garden. These are energy efficient, use less transformers, offer an extremely long operating life and give out a very subtle light.

Weatherproof or waterproof?

Naturally, the fact that the lights are sited outside implies they will need to be either weatherproof or waterproof if you want them to continue to function effectively.

Lights which are to be used underwater must be 100% waterproof and be capable of keeping the lamp and electrical parts dry even with the luminaire is submerged in water. In reality, few lights are actually used underwater and a product that is weatherproof will generally suffice.

Ultimately it is always worth seeking out the advice of a design expert for guidance on how best to light up your outdoor room and the best products available to suit your individual needs. So from throwing some light on how to ensure your drive and pathways are safe and well lit, to creating an inviting ambience for your outdoor entertaining zone, it makes sense to speak to a professional garden designer before you go shopping!