Do You Recognize These Garden Lighting Mistakes?

The field of landscape lighting is awash with misinformation that

, unfortunately, all too many so-called professionals do little to dispel. Most probably because putting people off tackling this area or "rescuing" them from their ignorance serves their bank balances well. So let's examine some of the more well known myths and mistakes.

There are many professions where the professionals have a vested interest in maintaining the belief that the subject is better left to them. Garden lighting is no exception. But the plain fact is that while it may indeed require seasoned and capable designers to come up with stunning new ideas, there is nothing at all stopping you or anyone else merely modifying these designs to suit your own requirements. Just begin browsing for garden lighting ideas and you'll have all you need.

The second great myth/mistake that lots of people fall for is the idea that a garden should be lit up like Times Square at night. Please, don't do this. Landscape lighting is all about subtlety and mood, suggestions and hints. The aim is to enhance natural features, exaggerating some and playing down others to create the impression that there are two quite distinct gardens - a daytime one and a night time one - not just the daytime one with the lights full on.

Overly bright outdoor lighting is also often (though not always) coupled with having far too many fixtures. It is possible to have not enough light fixtures to be effective, but as a rule less is more where landscape lighting is concerned. Without the darkness your lights won't stand out and perform as intended.

A major part of outdoor lighting is the ability to manufacture a completely different appearance for the garden at night, using the dark to conceal some aspects and light to bring out only those you want to hi-light.

Lots of people get it into their heads that since solar lighting consumes "free" electricity generated by sunlight then solar lighting itself is free. It's quite frankly up there with the famous free lunch - there's always a cost. For solar lights it's the initial purchase price plus replacement batteries (no, they don't last forever and neither do most solar light fittings).

It's remarkably common to find supposedly "knowledgeable" folk who criticize LED landscape lighting for their alleged lack of power. It's certainly true that LED lights used to be capable of little more than decorative effects, but no longer. Modern LED landscape lighting easily matches traditional low voltage garden lighting and comes with a host of other benefits. Very low energy consumption, no heat, variety of formats and colors, and high durability being among them.

In summary then.

Garden lighting doesn't require costly professional advice or work. You can go too far in terms of brightness and extent - keep it subtle. Solar lighting is not (whatever anyone says) actually free. LED landscape lighting is set to dominate this field.

by: Louisa Petrova

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