by Anna Wildman

Created on: March 29, 2009   Last Updated: October 12, 2010

Outdoor lighting has two purposes: to illuminate and to decorate. Outdoor lighting adds security to a home since most crooks prefer dim, poorly lit homes to break into.Outdoor lighting helps us see where we are walking when it is dark, and we are carrying groceries into the house. It can be used to create a mood or accent an interesting area.

Types of Outdoor Lighting:

Flood lights:

These are great for the front of a house or garage but they can be harsh and blinding at night and unsuitable to garden lighting.

Spotlights:

Not just for circuses and car dealerships anymore, these come in a multitude of sizes and colors.

Creative lighting:

These lights range from paper lantern strings to whimsically shaped light globes.

Path Lighting:

These come in styles to match every taste and are low to the ground so the light is directed down to where you are walking and not up into your eyes.

Solar lights:

A great choice for the green gardener or just one trying to save on the electric bill. These lights charge during the day and come on at night. They come in every shape style and color. They come in spot light and path lighting forms.

Uses for Outdoor Lights:

Aside from lighting a path or adding security, lights can be used to create a mood in the garden. A small spotlight trained on a unique plant accents the night garden. Placing a spot light aimed low behind a grouping of ferns and other delicate plants adds a romantic back lighting to the garden. Placing blue spotlights in the garden tucked behind plants and aimed low just above the ground creates an otherworldly fantasy feel. In a white moon garden, adding purple or red lights can create a feel of whimsy and wonder.

Creative lighting choices include stained glass candle holders on stakes. Place LED artificial tea lights in these to create a feeling of a romantic retreat. Animals and fairies with light globes in their statues create spots of phosphorescent beauty throughout the garden. Mild lighting will bring beneficial bugs to the flowers to pollinate them all night long. Use a color changing spotlight behind a water feature to create ripples of colored water at night.

You can use lights to define an outdoor space. Follow the edge of a fence line with LED rope lights. Place tall lights around the edge of a patio for a dinner party. Attach lights to the edge of a deck for nighttime reading and solitude. Outline a pond with lights flush with the ground. Put colored lights underwater in a pond, pool or fountain. Light up a child's playplace or a basketball court with flood lights.

The nighttime garden is dark and lonely light it up and create a fantasy playground after the rest of the world is sleeping. Lay out and watch the stars with your special someone in a retreat lit by "candlelight" and fireflies. Create a beckoning glow that welcomes visitors to your home. Outdoor lighting isn't just so we can see where we are walking.

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