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.

The “new look” in building architecture started in Europe, and on this continent in California, early in the 20th century. It did not come to Canada until after the Second World War. Basically, modern architecture is functional rather than decorative. It emphasizes the structural mass in buildings and calls for ordered surroundings.

Garden planning has not developed a modern style to such a clear extent as architecture, since traditional materials and practices have not changed as much in gardening as in building. Gardens cannot be purely practical as their function is largely decorative. Their reasons for existence are to provide beauty, relaxation and a natural setting for the buildings. When we work with complex natural forms, it is difficult to adhere to the plain surfaces characteristic of modern architecture.

Today we arrange plants in new forms to suit the scale and proportions of the new buildings; and we arrange the space in our gardens to suit our changing social habits. The key idea in modern garden planning has been to consider the garden as an outdoor extension of the house for the comfort of the family, rather than as a plant museum. This idea has also led to using more outdoor furniture, lighting, BBQ, screens, shelters, swimming pools and other things for decoration.

The average homeowner wants pleasing surroundings and a place to relax, with little labor and expense. Most of us look after our own gardens with perhaps a little unskilled labor for grass cutting and other regular chores. Unless gardening becomes our hobby, we will have less variety of plants than in the past. Also, there will be more careful planning of space as we become more appreciative of good design.

Because we need privacy, where there is little space we now use screens of closely woven lattice, opaque plastic or broad louvers of plywood to separate our garden from the neighbor’s. The more expensive walls of masonry or boundary plantings of trees and shrubs take up too much room to be used in a small garden.

Plants of rather unusual form are used in front of these flat surfaces to cast interesting and changing shadows not artificial lights. The effect of moving light and shadow is given by the lattice or louvers themselves, or by “egg-crate” beams in the roof overhangs on garden shelters. The interest of this movement is a substitute for variety in planting and artificial light for plants.

Concrete paving blocks and three-dimensional cast figures are taking the place of more expensive stonework and statues. The outdoor barbeque grill, with dad cooking has replaced tray-carrying servants for entertaining.

Because we like to sit and enjoy the garden from one spot, raised masonry planters, decorative pottery or flower beds are used to connect the inside of the house with the garden, when viewed from inside.