Bright Lights, Tall Woods

Lighting the night landscape is an investment that rewards the home owner from dusk until dawn. The exterior lighting of this Springfield, Mass., pool cabana illuminates the natural stonewalls and enhances the wooden entry doors. Matching pergolas flanking the cabana add dimension and provide sheltered outdoor seating beneath lighting that visually defines the wraparound patio. Incandescent halogen lights highlight the pink hues of the stony creek granite, quarried in Brandford, CT.

This early 1900s Tudor-style home and grounds border one of the largest inner city parks in the Northeast. Frederick Law Olmsted designed this park in the mid-1880s, and it is apparent upon viewing the five-plus acres that the space carries the famed designer's signature.

The client's growing family and a desire for a new space to entertain guests led to two construction/renovation projects that enhance the magnificence of the grounds. The pool and patio area were selected as the first renovation project. The central focal point for the reconstruction was a Southwestern style pool cabana with Spanish flare. The design phase began with a focus on the architectural style of the home, as well as the styles in the surrounding neighborhood, leading to the creation of spaces that were congruous with the larger area. The planning included extensive architectural and landscape lighting to enjoy at night.

Directional and wash lighting on the lower shrubs combine with uplights on the trees to create a cohesive light composition throughout the scene. The abundant native and naturalized plantings receive regular care from the owner.

Cabana

The sidewalls of the cabana were washed in the warm glow of incandescent halogen lights that complimented the natural stone fa?????ades. Recessed incandescent halogen soffit light fixtures with 35-watt lamps were installed on the pool side of the cabana, which graze the stone fa?????ade and front entry doors. The warmth of the incandescent halogen lamps enhances the earth tones of the cabana entry. The interior living space is lit with hanging chandlers and recessed lighting using a combination of halogen and LED lamps ranging in wattage.

The cupola centered atop the cabana was a focal accent, providing light to the roof and ridgeline. This allowed for decorative light at night and natural light for the interior of the cabana during the day. The matching pergolas on each side of the cabana create dimension and help define the surrounding pool and patio. Hanging exterior chandeliers with halogen lamps were hung on the pergolas to illuminate the outdoor living space beneath them. Each chandelier contains three 25-watt lamps.

Eight directional LED lights illuminate the 25-year-old conifers surrounding the pool enclosure, spilling light onto the patio's granite surface and helping visitors safely navigate the patio furniture on dark nights. The clients requested that the area lighting reach the patio enclosure beyond the pool.

The clients wanted continuity between the interior and exterior lighting of the cabana, which was created through the selection and placement of the fixtures. Switch plate wall dimmers were installed for adjusting the light levels within the cabana, permitting occupants a comfortable view of the exterior patio night lighting. Maintaining the client's needs during the design process was paramount to the success of the project. With the proper planning, it was possible to create an enjoyable nightscape view of the pool and patio from a comfortable and romantic space within the cabana. The easterly view from within the cabana looks across the pool toward a Concolor fir (Abies Concolor) privacy screen that separates the pool and patio area from the entry motorway and parking area. Eight LED directional lights with 5-watt comparable lamps were selected to up light, graze and wash the 25-year-old conifers. The lamps were 4000˚ Kelvin color temperature, providing full light coverage and enhancing the color of the plants. The row of spruces grows under the canopy of a large, mature red oak (Quercus Rubra) that allowed for vertical dimension of the lighting at this end of the pool and patio.

The arbor at the end of the spruce row permits passage to and from the pool area. Par 36 well lights with 35-watt halogen lamps up light the clematis vine on the easterly trellis, and aid in locating the gate within the arbor in the evening hours. The southeasterly side of the pool patio lighting was connected to the concolor fir screen by a Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum) specimen tree. Dwarf English Boxwoods (Buxus Sempevirens) within the perimeter fence were illuminated by spill light from both the specimen tree and the conifer screen, which now defines the patio perimeter at the south end of the pool enclosure. Large perennial beds were lit just outside the perimeter fence, at the south side of the pool. At the client's request, light shields and proper stem heights for the area lights eliminated glare from the extensive perennial beds.

Two life-sized bronze crane statues stand atop the spillway and are cross-lit with two MR16 Halogen 35 watt light fixtures, each with a 24-degree beam spread. The cross lighting highlights the sculptures at the highest elevation on the water feature. A weeping cherry (prunus subhertella) was positioned directly behind the cranes and lit using two Par 36 fixtures with 20-watt lamps, which create a low-light silhouette of the statues.

Knockout roses, hydrangeas and other perennials were combined with white and purple butterfly bushes to introduce a variety of color at the south side of the pool. Less mature plantings, such as the climbing roses and autumn clematis at the base of the south side trellis, were up lit at higher light levels. As they mature, the illumination of these climbing plants will create visual directions for passage in and out of the south side of the pool patio enclosure.

Wash lighting, on the plantings abutting the spillways, emphasizes the varied number of annuals and perennials that make up the water feature gardens. Up lighting on the mid level vegetation adds depth to the lighting on the canopy of the forest trees above.

Water Feature

The second project involved constructing and lighting an elaborate water feature with an array of waterfalls and spillways. The water flow collects in a large connecting pond with various species of fish and aquatic plants. The clients wanted lighting so the water feature could be seen and appreciated from the residence, about 100 yards away. The light needed to maintain a soft, warm and subtle feeling at the water's edge. The water feature was specified for the southeast corner of the property, preserving much of the existing vegetation to blend the new feature with the mature plantings. The water feature consists of a 40-foot by 42-foot circular collection pond, approximately 100 feet of total spillway and four waterfalls, each exceeding four feet in overall elevation. The height of the free-falling water at each of the falls is about 24 inches. Numerous decrementing elevation changes occur along each spillway's 4.5 - 5 foot elevation from the peak water circulation point to pond's surface. The combined flow of water from the pumps is 26,000 gallons per hour.

Twenty-watt halogen area lights illuminate the pathway and cast light on the assortment of begonias and sedums that border the walkway. The lighting designer varied light levels by installing the highest light level to the rear of the lighting scene, the mid light level in the front and lowest light level in the middle ground.

To enjoy this water feature from a distance, the surrounding forest vegetation was illuminated. Directional LED MR 16s (6.5-watt, 450 lumens) were placed at the base of the trees and directed at the forest canopy, which consists primarily of white pine (Pinus Strobus), red oak (Quercus Rubra), black cherry (Prunus Serotina) and Canadian hemlock (Tusga Canadensis). The illumination of the higher tree canopies provided a natural backdrop for the water feature.

The concolor fir hedge at the far right end of the patio forms a privacy screen to separate the living space from the entry motorway. The sidewalls of the hot tub have low-level lights to outline the spa for safe use without hindering views of the night sky. The specimen dogwood within the patio enclosure is up lit, connecting the fir screen to the planting beds on the outside of the decorative fencing.

A secondary vertical elevation beneath the tree canopy was lit to create a lower vertical backdrop to the water feature. This lower lighting layer uses up lighting and washes provided by LED MR 16s (5.0-watt, 380 lumens). Illuminating the lower level plants enhanced the backdrop and created a lovely reflection on the pond surface that can be enjoyed from the home. The ability to light vertically at two varying elevations met the client's request of viewing the water feature from their residence.

To illuminate the numerous spillways and falls, a total of seven aquatic luminaries were strategically positioned along the spillways and at the base of the falls. The lighting objective was to illuminate the water movement, highlighting the falls to bring the spilling water over the rocks to life. Submersible fixtures were installed and positioned at the water surface level with illumination focused upstream on the spillways. The fixtures were additional LED MR16s (5.0-watts, 380 lumens) with a beam spread that varied from 15 to 60 degrees depending upon position and location. The objective was to conceal the fixture to the viewer and spread the light with varying degrees of coverage.

Across the pond, the Japanese maple (acre palmatum) is up lit with three Par 36 35-watt well lights, marking the left border of the pond spillways. A cohesive scene was created in the vertical by up lighting the native forest canopy, and laterally with up lights on all the new trees, shrubs and perennials.

A variety of colorful perennials were planted abutting and between the many spillways. Beam spreads of the directional water lights were angled to illuminate many of these plants. Light was purposely omitted from some of these planting beds, directing the eye to focus on the waterfalls and cascading water spillways, which are considered priority viewing in the nighttime hours. Viewers will enjoy the bounty of color from the various perennials during the daylight hours, and the altered nighttime view brings the water features to life.

VENDORS

Illumascape Lighting LLC. Richard Ewing Landscapes Tom Lessard Construction Ottani Landscape Design Ken Gordon Landscape Construction Nature's Water Gardens Michael Epaul Photography