Skillfully placed lamps like guides lead to the most beautiful places in the garden. They invite you to enjoy the cool of the evening and have dinner on the terrace. Without light, the garden would be dead for the long hours of the night.
Spotlight or lantern?
The most important thing is to match the lighting to the style of the building and garden. Modern spotlights mounted in walls and the ground work great in small corners. Their advantage is that they are hardly visible. Simple, economical design, does not "clutter" the space with an excess of elements, which allows the introduction of several or even a dozen or so light sources of less power, with which you can optically enlarge the garden.For larger gardens, you can recommend lamps with clearly decorative luminaires: hanging, wall-mounted (wall lamps) and bollard lamps. In stores you will find a huge selection of this type of lighting, ranging from lamps with a modern design, and ending with very decorative, stylized as old gas lanterns.
The arrangement of the light is as important as the source itself. First of all, the number of lamps must not be overdone, otherwise a glow of light will be created over the garden. Secondly, instead of illuminating the entire space, it is better to "separate" individual corners with light. Third, light cannot dazzle, so instead of placing the lamp at eye level, it is better to position it overhead or very low and point it sideways or downwards. We should also pay attention to the type of luminaire and lamp shade. The best ones are made of opaque glass or plastic as they diffuse light. Transparent lenses should be enclosed with louvres or a roof reflecting the light downwards.
What to illuminate in the garden?
There must be light on the stairs and at the entrance to the house.Here you need a high-power lamp (most often a wall lamp or a ceiling lamp), placed above your head to illuminate all nooks and crannies. An interesting effect can also be obtained by illuminating the stairs on the side with low-power lamps mounted in the wall. The steps are then clearly visible and the light does not dazzle the eyes. Gazebos, terraces and grill squares are among the places most often visited in the evenings. Here, too, a strong source is needed. It is most convenient to install two lamps - one above the garden kitchen or grill, the other above the table. Spotlights or luminaires mounted in the surface will be useful to emphasize details - steps leading to a gazebo, a bed or a nearby sock. A separate issue is the lighting of the driveway and paths. In such places, low bollards that mark the edge of the surface are the best solution - the luminaires should be equipped with canopies and louvres directing the light downwards. A good solution are also luminaires mounted in the surface (adapted to high loads, so that they will not be damaged when we drive over them with a car wheel), provided, however, that they have low power and do not dazzle the driver and passers-by, or the lamp inside can be set in such a way so that it does not shine straight up.
When illuminating the lawn, we should remember not to illuminate the entire turf, as this will destroy other effects that we want to achieve by illuminating squares, ponds or surfaces. However, it is worth taking a look at the garden after dark and assess whether it is not dominated by a dark spot of unlit turf. To avoid this, one or two discreetly placed spotlights or bollard lamps are enough.
Installing lampsLamps and spotlights are usually thought of when the garden has its final shape. It often turns out that evenly arranged rebates have to be ruined to lay the power cables, and the driveway has to be partially dismantled to mount the headlight fittings. So let's design lighting along with the garden. First, we have to solve the problem of the voltage with which we will power the lighting. The advantage of a high-voltage installation (230 V) is that we do not have to limit the number and power of lamps in the garden. However, it cannot be used to highlight ponds. Low voltage installations (12 or 24 V) have a limited range (approx.30 m), and the sum of the power of the connected lamps must not exceed the power of the transformer. All installations in the ground are best placed in PVC pipes. Thanks to this, we will not damage them during garden work, and if it is necessary to replace the cord, you will not have to dig up the beds again. In order for the lighting to be energy-efficient, instead of ordinary light bulbs, it is worth using those that are adapted to compact fluorescent lamps or halogen bulbs. Solar powered devices are also a good solution. Remember, however, that they have little power and will not illuminate a large area.