Home Removal Services Blog

Just a few years ago it seemed quite rare to find people lighting their garden in the evening, which may have been due to the limited lighting options available then. Now though there is a huge choice of outdoor lighting available to satisfy most projects and budgets, with outdoor LED lighting emerging as a dominant player in this field.

And it’s easy to see why, since LED garden lighting enables attractive and hitherto unachievable effects that are at the same time simple to install and inexpensive to both purchase and operate. They are also quite safe around delicate plants, animals and children thanks to their very low power consumption and corresponding absence of heat.

LED garden lighting is typically powered the same way as conventional garden lighting, with individual light fittings connected to a 12v DC low voltage power supply cable, fed by a transformer connected to the mains (located indoors). However LED garden lights use only ten percent as much electricity as traditional systems using incandescent bulbs (including halogen lamps).

Traditional incandescent light bulbs operate by burning a filament that turns electricity into mostly heat (about 90%) and some light (up to 10%) whereas LED light bulbs electronically excite electrons which as a result cause photons (visible light) to be emitted. The nice part about such Light Emitting Diodes is that the heat to light ratio is the exact reverse with 90% of the input electricity now converted to light.

What this all means is that LED lights have two important characteristics. Firstly since most of the energy is converted to light not heat they run comparatively cool (you can certainly touch them). Secondly they need ten times less electricity to create the same light levels (a 5w LED will match a 50w incandescent) and accordingly cost ten times less to run. LED lights also have life spans twenty or more times longer thus reducing maintenance overheads.

On the issue of the quality of white light produced by LED lights, the Colour Rendering Index which assesses how faithfully an object is depicted using artificial light rates them highly. The basic color choice for most LED garden lights is white but they also come in a wide selection of other stunningly rich colours too.

The light that is emitted by an LED is a pure color, meaning that it represents just one part of the spectrum rather than being a blend of colors. This tends to give them a somewhat metallic, gem like appearance – think sapphire blue, emerald green, diamond white and ruby red. LED lights are also by nature very directional which makes them ideal for spot lighting, though other effects are easy to create using diffusers and filters.

Nowadays of course you can find LED outdoor lights in all manner of different types: rock lights; floodlights; patio and deck lights; wall wash effects; lanterns; spikes; integrated in garden ornaments; submerged in ponds; pagodas, and bollards. Yet the most enduring style still seems to be the LED spot light.

Finally, a simple checklist of points to consider when buying LED garden lights.

First be aware of the low power needs – even a tiny 1w LED will seem remarkably bright in a dark garden.

Second check how widely spread out narrowly focused the beam angle is and whether that suits your intended purpose.

Third, the electronic circuitry in most LED lights is easily ruined if the outer casing is not robust enough to keep out moisture.

Finally, where LED lights are concerned cost and quality go hand in hand and you will tend to get what you pay for.

Shrubs

Flowering shrubs are roughly of two types, those which should be pruned in the spring and those which should be pruned after blooming.

Shrubs like Mock orange, Tartarian Honeysuckle and Van Houttei Spirea bloom in the spring and they should not be pruned until after blooming.

Later flowering shrubs such as Hydrangea should be spring pruned to shape up the plant and encourage new growth on which the bloom will appear.

Dead and injured wood should be first cut out and the amount of trimming decided on afterwards.

Old growth can be cut out at ground level and then new growth headed back to provide a rounded compact appearance.

Shrubs such as Azalea, Deutzia, Smoke Bush and Weigelia should only be very lightly pruned, if at all.

Bush clover, Buddleia, Spirea, Anthony Waterer or Spirea billardi and summer flowering Hydrangeas should be cut right back to the ground in the fall to prevent winter kill.

As with other plants, shrubs should be fertilized, and treated for insects and disease control regularly. Green Cross Shrub and Evergreen Dust is a handy, ready to use control for most common pests.

Hedges:

When new hedge plants are set out, they should be headed back quite severely in order to promote “Bushing Out” at the base. The sides of individual plants touching each other should also be cut back to promote interlocking growth.

Another point to bear in mind from the beginning is that the sides of the hedge should be wider at the bottom than at the top, so that the lower foliage can obtain adequate sunlight. This is especially important with evergreen hedges in order to prevent holes or gaps in the lower part of the hedge later on.

Where informal hedges are being grown, one clipping in early spring is often sufficient except with fast growing hedges such as Chinese elm.

With formal hedges, the first trimming should be done in late spring or early

summer, this being to shape the hedge up. This should be followed by a second

trimming about one month later, or when there is 1-2 inches of new growth showing.

It might be noted that summer clipping tends to check growth and may weaken plants whereas dormant pruning favors wood production.

Practice summer trimming only on healthy, vigorously growing hedges.

Evergreens tend to start spring growth a little later than deciduous plants and so should not be trimmed as early. Cedar hedges may be trimmed in September after growth has ceased thus they require but one clipping per year.

When trimming hedges, clippers should be sharp so that young shoots are cut cleanly and not bruised. Cutting the sides first allows top clippings to fall clearly to the ground.

An annual spring dose of fertilizer together with underground sprinklers will aid greatly in maintaining a healthy, vigorous hedge. As hedge plants tend to compete with each other for moisture it is important that the hedge be well watered and putting underground sprinklers, during dry periods. Evergreen hedges should never be allowed to go into the winter season with the soil in a dry condition otherwise severe windburn and winter-kill may result.

Privet Hedges:

Hedges of privet are often killed back to ground level by the winter in many parts of Canada but they usually re-grow in a satisfactory manner if the dead wood is removed. Some varieties of privet are very sensitive to some insecticides, so, check with your local nursery or garden center before applying any chemical. If used on the sensitive varieties, the leaves may be severely injured and drop off the plants.