A well illuminated garden pops out the architectural features of your home and enhances its appearance when the sun goes down. It kind of extends your house outside and makes it more pleasurable to sit on the patio, or walk in the front or backyard.

With proper outdoor lighting, you can highlight the best areas and the interesting elements of your landscape, or point to your favorite trees or plants. The pathways and steps outside can be well defined, and it also creates a sense of safety at night.

Plan for outdoor lighting once you are through with the landscaping of your garden. There are numerous modern lighting fixtures and techniques to make your garden as appealing in the night as it is during the day.

But before you start buying the fixtures, decide the purpose of lighting. Are you trying to set up a particular mood like soft, romantic, moonlight, or should the appearance be warm and welcoming, or is it only for safety purposes?

Next, survey your garden and identify the locations where you need lighting. If possible, get the exact measurements for whichever object you plan to light up and understand the way they absorb or reflect the light.

The objects could be shrubs or trees, benches, fountains, statues or any other decoration. Floor lighting for your garden adds to the environment. Ensure to include all the walls, corners and the shadowy areas for home security and safety reasons.

Landscape lighting, ideally, should be subtle and specific to certain areas for maximum effect.

For instance – Recessed LED light fixtures illuminate brightly, but don’t strike the eye. They are energy efficient, safe and available in a variety of colors, and can be used to light up the paths, decks and steps. You may find them in the form of garden poles, pillars or outdoor lamps.

Low-voltage wall lightings around the property cater to the security aspect by highlighting the driveways, entrance as well as the porches. Mounted lanterns positioned at the top or at the base of a wall accentuate its structure and texture, while backlighting opaque panels gives a softer look.

Solar lights (especially during the summer season) are quite economical. They come in several shapes and sizes, like fairy lights for decorating the shrubs; candles, pedestal lights or mini rocks for placing along the path etc.

Just ensure to position them under the sun throughout the day. You may even use fluorescent lights especially for the plants in the areas that do NOT receive adequate sunlight.

Underwater lights add an aquatic glamour to fountains and ponds. And if you have a waterfall setup for your pond or pool, you can even place the lights directly behind the setup to create a rippling effect. But remember to use lights with an ingress protection rating of at least IP68.

Use an assortment of colors for casting shadows on your flowerbeds, or try concealing the lights under the foliage to create a mysterious effect. Placing a simple stream of light on the trees makes for a lively ambience.

The options to intensify the nighttime aesthetics are endless, but a lot depends on the total space and layout of your garden and your imagination. Be clear about your requirements and budget, and then proceed to turn your garden into a beautiful external living space.

This article was written by Tulip Anderson. She is passionate about writing and interior design and has recently sharing her passions with others.