A lighting designer's tips for lighting a garden
Garden lighting follows similar principles to interior lighting. It should consider layers of light and the building up of different effects to create a balanced whole. However, the solutions are different. In small gardens one tends to light the whole garden as a room and the outdoor space is treated as an extension of the interior space. A well-designed lighting scheme draws the eye outside to enjoy the garden features adding a wonderful new perspective as dusk falls.
With large gardens, knowing what to light and what not to light is important. Break down the lighting of your garden into key elements - paths, steps, sculpture, trees, walls, water and features. Do not be afraid of darkness as this plays an important part in a well-lit garden. Understanding the balance of light and shadow is a magical component in all lighting design.
A little light can go a long way at night, so select key focal points to be lit, ideally features that look good whatever the season. Sometimes these features can be surrounded by darkness and in other situations lit linking elements are used. These focal points could be sculptures, pavilions or trees. Evergreen trees are best for year-round focus, but some deciduous varieties can look pleasingly sculptural even once they have shed their leaves in winter.
No matter what the size of your garden, consider the terrace immediately by the house as more like a room and then decide what to light beyond. In all gardens light something close to the house so that the eye is drawn outside the glazing. Then gaps are filled in with light to link the features.
In large gardens, one concept is to light the immediate garden and then allow darkness to be celebrated before a key feature like a sculpture, summer house or impressive tree is lit in the distance. Smaller gardens can act as an extra room, with interesting features to look at, so why block them out at night with curtains and blinds? Lighting them in an interesting way keeps that feeling of space alive in the evening and night.
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Most garden lighting fittings are black but the ones that blend into gardens best are olive green. Copper fittings can also be good as they patinate to a neutral green colour with age. For lighting planting, spotlights or flood lights are ideal if they are mounted on spikes which can be repositioned as the planning grows. Look out for exterior LED strip, uplights, floor washers and wall mounted downlights to help add layers to your lighting. Solar powered lights might seem a cheaper option but currently they do not provide enough light output to create lighting effects.
In an age of energy efficiency, LED exterior lights from John Cullen from 1w to 8w means a garden can be lit for less than 60w! There is no longer any need to feel guilty about energy consumption in the lit garden at night.
Courtesy John Cullen Lighting1/6We all enjoy alfresco dining on warm summer nights and great lighting can add to the atmosphere and prolong your evening. Think of adding lighting over your table to illuminate meals. Here a tree provides support to several basket lanterns that give soft light to the dining table in a relaxed natural fashion. Then think about lighting the surrounding planting with spiked fixtures to light the planting and provide a soft perimeter light.
Courtesy John Cullen Lighting2/6Consider how your front garden and entrance will look at night. This is the first impression that friends have when they arrive so it sets the scene. A lantern either side of the door creates a welcoming effect or a hanging lantern if there is a porch. Alternatively use an element of uplight with our Lucca uplights to light up pots or the façade of the house. A big don’t is the use of security lights – these glare and wash the space with too much harsh light.
Courtesy John Cullen Lighting3/6This impressive garden needed careful lighting to ensure the glazed kitchen had a good view out at night, otherwise it would be like being in a mirrored box. The perimeter is uplit with a combination of spiked uplights for the tree and floods for the yew hedge between. The pool is lit in one direction, away from the building, to avoid glare from the kitchen as well as through the water. When there is movement in the water, it creates a ripple of reflected light on the yew hedge. The steps from the kitchen are lit with a linear strip giving a glow of light around the whole extension which makes it appear to float. This reflects off the paving, giving a soft indirect light that combines with the spill light from the kitchen – the latter acts like a large lantern.
Courtesy John Cullen Lighting4/6For a wonderful rooftop garden, think of lighting it as you would a room. Candles are once again used to create an intimate feeling at the centre of the space with the table underlit with a linear strip washing light onto the decking below. The perimeter is lit with a combination of Lucca uplights and LED strip under the balustrade. Finally an element of downlight to the hydrangeas adds another layer of light.
Courtesy John Cullen Lighting5/6For a small garden with decking or a patio, think about lighting your key features. Here it is the two trees either side of the banquette which are uplit by two 1w Kew spotlights. Linear LED lights below the bench were added to create another layer of light and wash light across the paving. The far planting is lit with Hampton floodlights to add another dimension. Finally think of adding candles on the table to create the mood in any outdoor dining area.
Courtesy John Cullen Lighting6/6In this country garden, the water feature dramatically flows through the paved and planted area, enhanced at each step down with a linear LED. The stepping stones that cross the path are underlit, making them appear to float in the water. Multi-stem trees are the focus of each bed, lit by 2 or 3 spiked 8 watt uplights. LED lanterns introduce a lower level of lighting around the seating area, making it more intimate. This is a great example of layered lighting in a garden which you can think about how to use in your own garden.
