You’ve put a lot of hard work into landscaping your yard, but at night no one can see it if you’re lacking in the landscape lighting area. Show off your yard day and night with some of our landscape lighting ideas. Not only will additional lighting in your yard allow you to highlight the areas you’re proud of, but you’ll also be creating a safer and more convenient area for your family and friends to enjoy at night.

Landscape Lighting Techniques

There are so many landscape lighting techniques to choose from. We’ve highlighted some here hoping that we inspire you to get creative.

A popular landscape lighting idea is the spotlight technique. By placing your light fixture so that the beam points directly to one area or feature, you create a focal point. The focal point can be on flowers, a fountain, or a statue – anything that you want to draw attention to.

Other popular lighting ideas include shadowing and silhouetting. To create the shadowing effect, you place the light in front of and below the feature you are wanting to highlight. This pushes the shadows of the feature onto a wall or shrubbery behind it, making the feature the first thing someone notices. Silhouetting is created by doing the exact opposite of shadowing. Place the light behind and below the feature, which will create the silhouette you’re looking for.

Other landscape lighting ideas include downlighting or area lighting. For these techniques, the light fixtures are placed in trees around your yard or on the side of your house. This not only gives you a large area of ground that is lit but is also a safe way to enjoy your outdoor living area, such as your stone patio or outdoor kitchen, at night.

Where to put your landscape lighting will depend on the type of look you’re going for. Different landscape lighting techniques will create different effects.

Landscape Lighting Areas

In addition to specific landscape lighting techniques, you can also place light fixtures around your yard to light entire spaces or place them in certain areas to create a safer outdoor living area for family and friends.

You can place light fixtures close to your house to not only create a safe area of yard to enjoy into the night, but also around entrances and windows to discourage burglars. You can extend this lighting to the entrance of your yard by lining your driveway or sidewalk with light fixtures to create a welcoming path to your home.

Hardscape lighting is a perfect example of where to place light fixtures that highlight your house. For hardscape lighting, light fixtures are attached to existing areas like steps, walkways, or patios. Hardscape lighting is a stylish, yet effective way to create a clearer walkway or increase the time you can spend out in your outdoor living area.

Landscape Lighting Fixtures

Now that we’ve covered the bases on the techniques you can use and the areas you can include landscape lighting in, you’ll need to think about lighting fixtures. There are many to choose from, so you have plenty of options to create the style that looks best with your yard.

Cylinder and box shaped fixtures work best to help focus and direct light beams. Depending on the type you buy, this shape will also help cut the glare and will protect the bulb from the environment. Spot or accent lights are another great way to focus light on one area. Many spot or accent lights are adjustable so that they can be used for many landscape lighting ideas, including down lighting and spotlighting.

Spread and diffused light fixtures are great for lighting large areas of your yard, including your driveway or flower garden. You can also choose fixtures that can be attached to existing areas, such as walls and pavers. These fixtures include wall bracket fixtures, chain lanterns, and post lights.

Adding any of these landscape ideas to your yard is a simple yet effective way to get the most of your Connecticut outdoor living area. If you’re interested in adding landscape lighting to your yard, visit us at Haynes to discuss your options today.