New Ideas in Landscape Lighting

• Solar and in-set lighting are favorite new landscape ideas.Light image by JG Design from Fotolia.com
  
  Landscape lighting is often overlooked when people plan out their yards and gardens. If you are working on landscaping around your house, spend some time on the lighting. The wrong types of landscape lighting can easily ruin a yard, especially if the lights blind guests or focus on trivial aspects of the project. Several new types of landscape lighting are available for you to use effectively in your yard.
  
  

Solar

• Solar lighting uses a small solar panel and an LED light to produce illumination once the sun sets. These lights are very portable since they do not require wires or cables. They come in many shapes, but the most common are small lanterns attached to stakes that you can press into the ground. Use these lights to provide illumination for flower beds, boundaries and walkways.
  
  

Stepping Stones

• Stepping stone lights may be battery-charged, solar-charged or even attached to cables. These are faux-stone tiles that you can place on the ground to create pathways across landscaping. They have an inner section that lights up in the dark, providing a light glow that shows exactly where each stepping stone is, which makes it much easier for people to find their way in the dark.
  
  

Sculptures

• Glowing sculptures are also becoming common. These sculptures are not complicated but are simple globes or pillars that you can turn on. An inner light source creates focal points on the sculpture and provides illumination to those nearby.
  
  

Backlighting

• Backlighting refers to lighting a nearby wall with a floodlight. The wall will reflect this light back into a deck or patio area, which does provide much useful lighting, but it creates a silhouette effect that works very well for outdoor gatherings. Use backlighting if you have a broad, light-colored wall next to your patio.
  
  

Moonlighting

• Moonlighting is a general type of lighting that is meant to cast low-level illumination on all surrounding areas. These lights are usually placed on posts about eye level and tend to face downward so that you and guests can see the ground more easily.