Winter is prime time for some landscaping projects. Without the distraction of foliage, you can see the "bones" of your space, and determine what to do to improve structures, enhance overall design and place large features. It's also an ideal time to think about landscape lighting.
If you don't have landscape lighting, you really should consider it, because few things are more magical in a garden than proper illumination. With good lighting, the garden doesn't disappear in winter; it simply becomes more sculptural, more dramatic and even a little more mysterious.
There are three main reasons to light up the landscape: safety, security and aesthetics. There also are three main ways to use lights: up-lighting, down-lighting and grazing, or washing. A mix of techniques will give you the most appealing "tapestry" effect in the garden.
Before you think about details, though, seriously consider what you want to achieve. Bigger and brighter is not better when it comes to garden lighting. In fact, bigger and brighter is not good in many settings. Bright lights can be counterproductive, creating glare and high contrasts that waste a lot of light and energy.
If you give them the opportunity, human eyes adapt quite well to lower light conditions, especially if the light is consistent, not concentrated in spots but properly directed for maximum efficiency and usefulness. You don't need to use standard 120-volt lines. Low-voltage lights -- 12-volt systems -- are perfectly suited for garden accents.
What you especially don't want are lights shining needlessly and annoyingly up into the sky or washing over onto a neighbor's property. It's the height of rudeness to force the people around you to pull down the shades, close the blinds or shutter the windows on their houses to avoid spotlights that turn your home and garage into brilliant objects that might be seen by the Mars Rovers.
Speaking of Mars, when was the last time you looked into the sky and tried to pick out the constellations, or a planet or two? Couldn't see anything but a reddish-orange glow? That's light pollution, a growing problem in many communities.
At first light pollution was a concern mainly for astronomers, who found that a burgeoning amount of ambient light was interfering with their telescopes. Now more and more communities are realizing that light pollution can disturb neighborhoods, create a danger for motorists and obscure everybody's right to observe the night sky.
According to the International Dark-Sky Association in Tucson, many counties and at least half a dozen states have dark-sky ordinances. Several counties in Virginia, including Albemarle, Fauquier, Loudoun and Warren, have proposed or implemented light-pollution restrictions. Maryland legislated a task force to study the problem in 2001.
Restrictions on light pollution don't mean cities and yards will be dark and dangerous. Good lighting is efficient, effective and energy saving. Most light pollution ordinances are directed at public entities, such as advertising, commercial buildings and recreational facilities. They require fixtures to focus light downward, not up into the sky, and to be turned off, or minimized, when buildings are not in use. Some ordinances require replacing glaring mercury vapor lighting with low-pressure sodium fixtures. The International Dark-Sky Association estimates that replacing mercury vapor lights with low-pressure sodium fixtures across the United States could save $500 million a year.
What this means for home landscapers is that by choosing the proper fixtures and using them efficiently, you can have a lovely, light-infused landscape. These low-voltage light sources can also provide enough illumination to get your car into the garage, get you into the house without stumbling and keep your guests from having to grope for the front door.
Avoid getting $30 mercury vapor "security light bulbs" at home improvement stores. A less expensive, safer and efficient lighting system for the landscape is low voltage that can be placed where it is needed without the trenching, conduit and junction boxes that are required for higher voltage systems. You might want to light a walkway or an entryway. Landscape lighting specialists generally recommend lighting the outside of a curved walk, but you can experiment to see what works in your space. You may want to light the inside curve or even stagger the lights. Just make sure fixtures are directed so the light actually hits the ground and the walk, and doesn't shine in people's eyes or up into the night sky. Of course, the time to assess this is at night.
You can also use low-voltage lights as down-lights in trees or to "wash" a wall, tree trunk or a bit of shrubbery. Angle up-lights to get maximum effect on the objects you are illuminating, without wasting light on the air above the plant and to avoid shining lights into the eyes of passersby.
If you want a security light at the property entrance, on a garage, or at the less-visible corners of the house, think about using motion detector lights that turn on only when their field of exposure is activated. Lights that come on in response to movement let possible intruders know that alert homeowners are monitoring the property. Consider a dimmer switch on your bright lights. This is more effective than full-wattage floodlights that create pockets of intense light and deep shadows.
Consider recessing lighting fixtures in stair risers or sidewalls. They will illuminate the steps without causing glare that actually obscures hazards. Do remember that people will naturally follow light, so make your lighting pathways clear. If you illuminate a back door, side entry or deck, that is where people will expect to find the entrance to your house.
"Light trespass" is what happens when your lights spill into or shine onto neighboring properties. Motion-detecting lights can avoid flooding neighbors' yards all night. Make sure lights are directed down, aren't over-bright, and focus only on places where you need illumination.
It's not easy to get individuals, much less governments, focused on an abstract concept such as too much light being a bad thing. But we need to look beyond our own yards. When we lose the ability to see the night sky, we lose the ability to see the vast space that is our home, as well as the opportunity to fully appreciate our planet.
Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park, Md. E-mail or contact him through his Web site, www.gardenlerner.com.
