Lighting your garden

Providing gardens with adequate illumination is a way to enjoy your garden after the sun goes down, to decorate the area for entertaining in the summer months and keep it looking alive during dark, wintry days when night time creeps in early. The concept of attractive and practical outdoor lighting is appealing; especially when you consider how easy it is to install a system yourself.

Outdoor illumination is not only appropriate for safety issues, but it creates ambiance. Lighting can draw attention to a special tree or feature, lead you safely down a path and provide security. In all cases it can allow gardens to be enjoyed after dark and be designed to your specific tastes!

Planning

Time spent planning your lighting scheme will enhance your garden’s best features.

• Visit local garden centres, DIY chains, electrical wholesalers and look at websites for inspiration. Here are some websites to help you out:
• www.lightingforgardens.com
• www.thegardenlightingshop.co.uk
• www.allweatherlighting.co.uk
• www.moonlightdesign.co.uk
• www.gardenlightingbydesign.co.uk
• Concentrate on the most attractive features, such as a specific plant or water feature, don’t just light everything in sight.
• Think practically – light up steps and paths for safe access and combine with security lights.
• Think about the controls; there are various options from wall mounted light switches to hand held remote controls.
• Avoid positioning lights so that they shine onto a neighbour’s window.
• Some outdoor lights can get hot, so place out of reach of small children.
• If using an electrician, check they are registered with a governement scheme.

Pathway lighting; Lights are either illuminated or projected from about ankle to knee height to light the walking path. It certainly has an aesthetic appeal, but its basic function is to provide safety.

Security lighting; Security lighting is placed strategically to eliminate dark spots. Although this type of lighting can serve to accent special features, its primary purpose is to provide safety and security.

Area lighting; This type of lighting is generally intended to cover a broad area, rather than spot or accent lighting.

Spot lighting; Unlike area lighting, spot lighting is intended to illuminate a specific feature such as a garden statue to draw attention to the object.

Mood lighting; Offers a number of different techniques to create certain ambience in the landscape or around your home.

Moon lighting; This technique places lights high in the trees to wash over a large area, giving the appearance of a full moon all month long.

Shadow lighting; This type of lighting is used to illuminate a tree, sculpture or other garden feature creating a shadow effect on the ground or wall of a structure.

Silhouette lighting; In this case, lighting is placed behind an object to high-light and feature the bones or shape of the structure through backlighting. Silhouette lighting is ideal to feature the architectural detail of a structure.

Water lighting; This effect looks good, and if you have fish, they’ll turn into colourful streaks of light; however it doesn’t provide much functional light.

Down lighting; If against a wall, down lighting can accent the texture while providing additional safety and security. If tall trees have been installed with down lighting, especially in winter when the trees are void of leaves they create a dramatic effect by accentuating the interesting branch structure.

Up lighting; Another dramatic effect is created when lights are placed at the bottom of a structure or tree and aimed upward. This type of lighting always gets noticed and creates an interesting focal point.

Rules and regulations

Rules were tightened in 2005 to prevent the number of accidents caused by faulty electrical work. All electrical work in the garden must now be carried out in accordance with Building Regulations.

Should you be able to carry out work yourself, inspect and test that it is safe for use. To comply with the law you must notify your local building control office before starting any work and pay the appropriate fee for it to be inspected.

NICEIC is the electrical contracting industry’s independent voluntary body for electrical installation matters throughout the UK. NICEIC maintains a list of around 20,000 approved electrical contractors and domestic installers. Find one in your area by calling 0870 013 0382 or visiting the NICEIC website.

Safety first

• All outdoor sockets must be RCD protected for safety. An RCD or residual current device works by switching off the flow of electricity when a cable or flex is cut and should be hardwired to your fuse box.
• Cables for fixed outdoor lighting installations must be buried at a sufficient depth to avoid damage from garden tools and should also be protected by an earthed metallic cover. This will require the electrician to dig a trench in the garden.
• Where possible lay piping or conduit for cables to pass underneath any hard landscaping. Your electrician can advise what to do if hard landscaping has already been laid.
• Decorative lights plugged into an outdoor socket, should be taken inside after use unless the box states they are waterproof; they are not designed to stay out all year round.
• Always buy good quality outdoor lighting equipment from a reputable retailer and make sure the light fittings are weatherproof.
• An approved quality light fitting should always carry an IP rating, which indicates how well it stands up to external conditions.
• Don’t forget to look for the BEAB Approved Mark or the European Community (CE) safety symbol too.

REMEMBER: All cables and transformers should be placed out of sight to ensure the lighting scheme is only apparent when lit at night. Besides the aesthetic benefits, lighting a dark space is one of the most important deterrents to keeping potential burglars and vandals away, illuminating potentially dangerous areas for visiting family and friends and overall, making your property safe and secure.