Just for a moment, we want to shake up the pictures you imagine when we say landscape lighting. Instead of that panoramic view of a stately home and the beautifully-illuminated yard surrounding it, let’s zoom in on some of our favorite close-ups!
Landscape lighting in Cary NC can mean so many things. Most residential outdoor lighting that isn’t focused specifically on your home’s architectural façade is considered landscape lighting. In addition to the usual suspects—trees, gardens and shrubs—the term landscape can include statues and sculpture, water features, fire features and your driveway and walkways around your property. Usually, we take the long view, but today let’s zoom in for a closer look.
Will Landscape Lighting at Your Home Show Off Your Gardens?
While some homeowners prefer the crisp, tidy precision of manicured shrubs over unruly flowering plants, most home gardeners love their flower beds. Whether you have a formal garden or simple beds bordering your shrubs, if you have flowers you will want your outdoor lighting to highlight them. So here’s the interesting question: If you have your outdoor lighting illuminating your flowers, who will see them?
The immediate answer might be this: more people than were able to see them when they were not illuminated with landscape lighting! When your flowers are cloaked in darkness each night, no one sees them.
Here’s a more thoughtful answer: If the flowers being illuminated are in the front yard, everyone passing your home at night will see them, and you’ll see them when you arrive home after dark. But if the flowers are in the back yard, only you and your guests will see them. We point this out because most people think landscape lighting belongs in the front yard. Don’t overlook the great joy you will get each night from looking out over your back yard and seeing your beautiful, blooming flowers there. It’s fine to light your front yard for curb appeal, but don’t neglect the back yard!
Where Would Landscape Lighting in Cary NC be without Path Lighting?
Path lighting is one of our most popular landscape lighting techniques. We use small LED light fixtures for path lighting, but they pack a powerful punch. Notice that the top of the fixture prevents light from shining upward. All of the light from this fixture shines down on the ground. Notice the quality of this fixture! Our professional-grade fixtures are made of heavy-gauge, corrosion-resistant brass and copper that develops a beautiful patina as it weathers.
While the path light does enhance the beauty of ground cover and low shrubs lining a walkway or driveway, its primary purpose is to make walkways safer. Safe passage is a term we use to indicate that a person walking here will be able to see where they are stepping.
Are Water Features Too Beautiful NOT to Illuminate?
If your yard includes any kind of water feature—a fountain, pond or trickling waterfall across a series of rocks—our landscape lighting designer will feature that in your custom lighting plan. Sights like this are just too beautiful to leave concealed in darkness at night. If you have a scene this beautiful in your yard, that alone is reason enough to have landscape lighting installed at your home!
Adding illumination to a water feature at night doubles the impact on your senses. You see the water spray cascading from rock to pond while hearing it, too. The effect is soothing and meditative. Will you keep it to yourself or share this scene with guests?
Is This Patio More Inviting With or Without Landscape Lighting?
You have probably guessed we would answer, “with.” A patio or courtyard as lovely as this one, if left to hide in darkness, would only be a place to pass by on your way to enter the home. Beautifully illuminated as it is with landscape lighting, now it’s a place that would be hard to leave. If you have a beautiful patio or courtyard awash in the soft glow of landscape lighting, it will probably be your favorite place at your home.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of up close and personal Landscape lighting in Cary NC. If you are intrigued, please give us a call!
For all your Cary, NC landscape lighting needs, call Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Raleigh today at (919) 769-6651 or email us at olpraleigh@outdoorlights.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
