Lighting for the Seasons!

By Michael Southard, Kichler Lighting

Installing low voltage landscape lighting can make adapting to the changing seasons much easer. Some of the benefits of low voltage landscape lighting include the ability to move fixtures around as the seasons change. It is also very easy to add fixtures to accommodate plant material growth and additions to any garden area.

Have you ever thought that landscape lighting (or outdoor lighting) was really just meant to be enjoyed in the summertime? Well, I have heard this from many people, matter of fact, I have a neighbor who takes the bulbs out of their fixtures as soon as the first snow hits. Nothing could be further from the truth. Landscape lighting is meant for all seasons!

Let’s define landscape lighting. Landscape lighting is an industry term that encompasses a wide range of uses for lighting in the outdoor environment. Landscape lighting creates a sense of security with well-lit areas around the house and entryways that add a sense of comfort and protection while acting as a deterrent to potential trespassers. Lighting will also provide safety throughout the landscape and outdoor living space by illuminating stairs, pathways, or any other potential obstacles. Above all else landscape lighting provides much needed aesthetic value and drama to the property owner. Just think about all the money that is spent on the actual home as well as the landscape around it. Without lighting, the time you are able to enjoy it is very limited. With today’s two-income households, many people leave their homes just before dawn and return after dark. This does not leave much time to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Landscape lighting not only extends the time in which the property can be enjoyed it also increases its overall value.

So why limit your landscape lighting to just spring and summer? Why not let your lighting enable those in northern climates to enjoy all four seasons? If you really think about it, landscape lighting was really meant for the winter. In the summer it doesn’t get dark until 9:30 or later while in the winter it’s dark when we wake and dark when we arrive home from work. As you can see landscape lighting provides a real quality-of-life benefit. Spring, summer, fall or winter, landscape lighting works for all seasons.

In many northern climates with excessive snowfall, it is important to consider the placement of the fixtures. With too much snow the effectiveness of accent, lighting fixtures is impacted. It might be a better design to place the fixtures high up in the trees to create a downlight or moonlighting effect or possibly on the trunk of the tree if uplighting is required.

How do contractors and designers plan for the changes in seasons? It is important to realize that seasons change the garden. While landscape lighting is more often than not installed in the summer, the designer must be able to visualize what may happen in the fall, winter and spring. Leaves fall, and now the once leafy tree becomes an intricate maze of branches, different but equally important as when in full bloom. Snow falls and the entire look changes. The designer must plan for these changes.

The important lesson here is to think about how the change in seasons will influence your garden lighting design and plan your fixture choices and placement accordingly. If done correctly and in concert with your customer’s needs and desires, the year-round enjoyment of their outdoor environment will be greatly improved

The designer must also consider light bulb choices when planning the landscape lighting. What might work for a tree in late fall or early winter may not work as well for that same tree in full bloom. A tree in the middle of the summer will require much more light than the same tree after its leaves have fallen.

Illuminating Info

6 to 10: Feet, the space usually seen between pathway lights.