Days are getting shorter and we find ourselves spending less time outdoors. Why? Temperatures are still warm, but the darkness has us moving inside earlier and earlier. Landscape lighting is a great way to extend our season and allow us to enjoy our beautiful landscapes. This also satisfies those who desire greater curb appeal and those you enjoy the view from inside their homes looking out at illuminated landscapes.
When thinking of lighting, we may start with hard surfaces like pathways, dining areas and entranceways. In addition to enhanced beauty, lighting provides better safety in these areas. We can do more! Our focal plants like our favourite Japanese Maple, Flowering Magnolias or large lawn trees are a great place to start. You can also highlight water features, statues and other garden décor.
Landscape lighting can add romance and highlight our trees and landscapes in way that we typically don’t view them during the day. Our strongly branched tree, more masculine during the daytime, takes on a softer, more feminine and romantic appearance accent lit in the evening. Lights are a great way to highlight branch structure and hot and cold areas in the garden. While during the day, we are wowed by blossoms and colour, during the evening and night we admire the canopy or shadows or even trunks of some of our favourite trees.
Some may choose to light up their yard in its entirety, simply starting at one area of the garden and placing lights every so many feet so that entire planting beds or foundation planting are illuminated. Others choose to use the lighting sporadically throughout their landscape, by highlighting certain plants or features of their yard while leaving some space to your imagination. There are many ways to do this and no right or wrong method, simply different results for different tastes and preferences.
Once you decide that you are considering landscape lighting, it is helpful to bring in a consultant to advise you on different locations and lighting factors to achieve various looks. Its amazing how playing around with some different lighting fixtures at dusk can be transformational in how you view your night landscape. Most people are wowed. The consultant will help you determine how to proceed to achieve the desired effects in your landscape. You’ll be thankful for help in selecting fixtures, light warmth, brightness and beam angles, a transformer and wiring to energize your system. In addition, there are new controllers that allow you to control the time your lights come on and off from your phone, or by your geographic location according to Dusk and Dawn!
The newest technology systems are low voltage, LED lighting and cost very little to operating and require minimal maintenance such as adjusting light positions and fixing minor damage.
Contact Cooper Landscape Lighting for a free consultation.
CooperLandscapeLighting@gmail.com
Call Marty: 905-327-4224
Life is too short – don’t live in the dark – light it up!