Five Tips for Better Landscape Lighting

Now that Spring is near, it’s time to start thinking about how you want to update your outdoors to prepare for backyard parties. Landscape lighting can be a daunting task for many, but we have a few tips to simplify the process and help you end up with landscape lighting that is perfect for your home.

1. Safety First

The first and most important thing you should do when considering landscape lighting is to check out your property during the day and after dark to determine which areas could benefit from a little extra lighting to keep your guests safe. You don’t want anyone tripping because uneven ground wasn’t adequately lit, so look around your yard and spot any locations that would need extra lighting in order to keep people safe.

2. Show Off Your Best Features

Once you’ve determined the places that need extra lighting for safety’s sake, look around your property for places you want to highlight. Your prized rosebushes? Show ‘em off! If you have something beautiful in your yard or garden, landscape lighting is the perfect way to make sure your guests see it.

3. Don’t Forget Underlighting

An often overlooked aspect of landscape lighting in underlighting, the practice of highlighting certain aspects of your yard by lighting them from underneath. This can be especially beautiful and beneficial for trees, as shown in the picture above. While the best technique for underlighting your trees will vary by the type of tree, but you’ll likely want a bigger spot-type landscape lighting for your trees.

4. Be Welcoming

Your goal with landscape lighting should be to make your guests feel as welcome as possible in your home and yard. Consider adding lighting to accent the front door to give your home an even more welcoming feel.

5. Make a Plan Before Starting

Once you’ve thought through what you might want to light around your yard, make a plan and draw it out. You can use that plan to determine how many and what type of lights you’ll need, as well as to plan how you’ll power the lights.

What are your best tips for using landscape lighting to make your yard as beautiful as possible? Let us know in the comments below!

Product Spotlight: Streamlight Buckmasters Trident HP Headlamp

Looking for a high performance LED headlamp? Whether you’re an outdoorsman (or woman) navigating the dark, damp interior of a poorly lit cave or needing a soft glow to illuminate the pages of your book before you turn in for the night, the Streamlight BuckMasters Trident HP Headlamp is sure to be a handy addition to your home tool box or emergency kit.

Optimized to provide maximum output in a single reflector/LED configuration, the Trident HP Headlamp offers white C4 LED technology with three ultrabright 5mm safety green LEDs within the same reflector and is equipped with three lighting modes to best suit your needs. Choose between using the C4 LED (2,500 candela peak beam intensity with 5 hour runtime,) one green LED (32 candela peak beam intensity with 50 hour runtime) or all three green LEDs (80 candela peak bean intensity with 22 hour runtime).

Other features include a 90° tilting head, an elastic head strap and a rubber hard hat strap. Included are three AAA batteries that power the device. Like other durable Streamlight products, the Trident HP Headlamp is both IPX4 and water resistant, as well as impact resistant up to 2m. Choose between traditional yellow, or popular RealTree Hardwoods Green Camo or Blaze Camo for a little customization. This product also comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

High power headlamps traditionally have a very rugged stigma, but they’re not useful exclusively to the likes of Paul Bunyan. Headlamps are an affordable and convenient item to have laying in your at-home tool box or in the glove compartment of your car. Use it for recreational and day-to-day activities like walking the dog at night on a poorly lit street. When you’re caught with an unexpected home or car repair, shine a little light on it with your trusty Trident HP to better assess the situation.

Have you been left standing in the dark because you didn’t have a headlamp? Or maybe you’ve used your high performance LED for a scenario we didn’t list above. Sound off in the comments below and be sure to check out the rest of our energy efficient lighting online at Energy Saving Lighting!