Lights, Lights, Everywhere are lights, but where in the world should we put'em? In the olden days . . . OK . . . Not so long ago . . . Lighting was more of an afterthought than an integral part of the landscape. But today, things are much different. In the mid 80's I remember John Watson, of John Watson Landscape Illumination, telling me a story about putting candles in tin cans to light up a backyard. "A landscape is in the night as often as it is in the day," he said . . . The truth was and still is, many of your clients spend thousands of dollars to build a landscape that they don't get to see until they get home from work and it is already dark outside. This, of course, equates to a tremendous opportunity to incorporate lighting design and/or installation into your company's portfolio. And while working with standard voltage is not something you want the new guy working on, if you don't have someone on board who can work with standard voltage fixtures, you are missing a profit opportunity. Sure, you can always stick to low voltage lighting, which is great in a lot of situations, but landscape lighting . . . good landscape lighting . . . is a combination of the two. And knowing when and how to place the fixtures, and wiring is as much a science as it is an artform . . . Innovations in lighting fixtures, bulbs and technology abound in todays market. On the forefront are LED lighting products (think flat screen TV), super-long-life bulbs, paver lights, landscape edging lights, playground edging lights, underwater lights and voltage boosters for low voltage systems . . . Not to mention (OK I'll mention) the MR-16's and fiber optics of the last millennium . . . The lighting industry has targeted the landscape industry and are producing more and more products to make your jobs easier and more profitable. So be sure you are not walking around in the dark when it comes to landscape lighting . . . . Sorry . . . had to say that . . . Anyways, a great place to learn more about landscape lighting (besides in this magazine and at landscapearchitect.com.) is at the annual LightFair Trade show, which this year is held in San Francisco, June 3-5. LCM will be there in booth #131. If you need more information you can call 404-220-2221 . . . We have been exhibiting there for more than a decade and every year we see more and more Landscape professionals walking through the aisles . . . If you do make there be sure to stop by and say hey . . . God Bless . . .