The fundamentals of exterior lighting

The Fundamentals of Exterior Lighting

Lighting your garden enables you to extend the feeling you have created within your home into the outside space and make it feel much more comfortable to spend time in. The approach to an exterior lighting scheme has slightly different considerations and principles.

Benefits of Lighting Outside

At night, your garden can become a completely black view from the windows and also means your interior is reflected back to you which can be unappealing.

Introducing lighting outside creates more of an attractive view through your windows at night, and makes the feeling within your home more comfortable.

Tips for Exterior Lighting

• You don't need to light the whole garden, even just highlighting some planting immediately outside your windows will create a beautiful effect.
• It can be helpful to break up your exterior lighting scheme and create 'rooms' within your garden that favour different effects for specific purposes.
• Consider how you want to use the spaces within your garden, and plan your lighting accordingly - the lighting should enhance and compliment the way you live in the space.
• Fire bowls are a wonderful addition to seating areas for a convivial feeling when sitting outside with friends.
• Spiked lights help to illuminate areas of planting and really bring out the beautiful details.

Planning Exterior Lighting

First think about the zones you want to create, especially if you have a large outdoor area. Zones that are closest to your house should be treated most like a room with specific layers.

Next, consider how to introduce layers. These could be wall lights for general, ambient lighting, uplights to help accent the planting as well as task style lighting to navigate the way through paths.

Lighting My Terrace

Kew 25 and Kew 40 spiked up lighter to highlight a central sculptural as well as the planting.

Hampton 25 mini flood to light the step areas and Hampton 40 at the front of the beds to flood the beds with general light.

Portobello provides soft downward light to low foliage and pathways.

Carella gives a gentle, candlelight glow to the grasses.

Controlling the Lighting

When lighting an exterior, you have to be particularly mindful of the ecology of your location.

If you're in the countryside, this means respecting 'dark skies' is of utmost importance.

If your home is on a bat flight path, you are not allowed to have uplighting within your scheme.

Make sure each area of lighting within your garden can be controlled separately, so you are only lighting the areas you need to. This can be done by programming scenes.

In my garden, I have programmed the following scenes:

Scene 1 - Just the wall lights

The most practical setting, for when I need to go out and get something.

Scene 2 - Wall lights and terrace

Used when we're sitting outside or enjoying an evening drink.

Scene 3 - Wall lights, terrace, decorative lighting in planting

For when I'm using the whole garden for a party or special occasion.

Waterproofing Your Wiring and Drivers

Installation must be done by a professional, and making waterproof connections is absolutely essential. Introducing anything electrical outside means safety is an incredibly important consideration, so make sure you don't cut any corners.

Drivers can be protected from the elements by being installed in weatherproof boxes. I avoid burying them where I can; ideally, you want them wall-mounted in a low position. They can be hidden by evergreen foliage and painted in a complimentary colour to the surroundings to make them as inconspicuous as possible.