Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting is just as important as interior lighting. It is all about not lighting too much, but enough to make the major points of your garden draw people’s eyes in. The lighting can be subtle enough to show off the texture of a particular bush or tree. It is important to not light up every plant or not to use too many lights in general as this may overdo it and your garden may not look as minimalistic as you imagined.
The best type of light to use for outdoor lighting would be fibre optics. They provide enough light to just light up the object you place it under and are sufficient when it comes to water resistance. Making sure the lights are resistant to water is just as important than choosing what lights and where they go. Generally, there is an IP rating going from 0 to 8. 0 being there is no protection against water at all and 68 being water tight so no water/dust can get in at all. Choosing which IP protection to go for determines how long your lights will ultimately last whilst its raining. With fibre optics lighting, the raindrops look as though they are integrated in the light and make for some interesting and unique patterns on the object.
Uplights can also be a good source of light for a garden as they are similar to the fibre optics, they are just brighter. You will still need to take into account which IP rating you would go for to ensure the lights last for as long as possible. Uplights are good lights to use for any trees or tall bushes that you may have because it lights up the whole tree, just as a fibre optic would with a plant. The colour of the light also plays an important factor, as you want to conceal it as much as possible for the best effect. Black is often a good colour for outdoor lights as they blend in with the night, but may be visible during the day. Dark green ones allow for the lights to blend in with the foliage during the day and night so they stay hidden all day.
Outdoor lighting is just as important as interior lighting for many reasons, it allows your garden to be just as simplistic and minimalistic as your interior, with only a couple of things to take into account. These include which lights you want for which plant, as fibre optics may be more useful for smaller plants in pots or smaller bushes and uplights may be more useful for trees and taller bushes. The IP rating is just as important as well to ensure the lights last as long as possible.
