Landscape Lighting A Bright Market

Portland, Ore. exterior lighting contractor John Stone created this display to promote his business. The lighting business is heating up nationwide.

Homeowners are spending more on landscaping than ever before, with exterior lighting one of the fastest-growing segments of the market, recent industry data suggests.

Consumers are spending a projected $41.6 billion on lawn care, tree care and landscaping this year compared with just $28.9 billion in 2002 according to the Associated Landscape Contractors of America, or ALCA. Numbers from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies confirm the trend. According to the center, the nation's homeowners spent $25 billion last year on property improvements alone, compared with $18.1 billion in 1999.

The current boom in landscape lighting is part of the trend, according to a Dec. 7 story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

?EUR??,,????'??It's a big business, growing fast,?EUR??,,????'?? the paper says.

?EUR??,,????'??When I started business 20 years ago, I was the first in Wisconsin to specialize just in landscape lighting,?EUR??,,????'?? said Pat Cullinane, a landscape architect who runs Night Gardens Landscape Lighting Co. in Hartland, Wis. ?EUR??,,????'??Now you look in the Yellow Pages and you find quite a selection.?EUR??,,????'??

A ballpark figure for lighting a front and a backyard is about $3,000.

Tom Oelmann of Waukesha, Wis. said the $5,000 he spent for lighting their three-quarter-acre property was ?EUR??,,????'??a wonderful value.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??We started out with a spotlight on the house for the holidays,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??Then it was a do-it-your-self thing with floodlights. Then one day, I realized it looked like a Parade of Homes house. We wanted something more subtle.?EUR??,,????'??

Oelmann hired Night Gardens for a more professional design.

The electricity bill was less than a shock, he was pleased to find.

?EUR??,,????'??There's about 23 places where we have lights,?EUR??,,????'?? Oelmann said. ?EUR??,,????'??But together they use about 600 watts-less than my homemade floodlight system did.?EUR??,,????'??