LIGHTING
Color temperatures are measured in degrees of Kelvin. Light with a higher Kelvin value has a cooler blue hue, while lower values have a warm yellow hue. Photos: EmeryAllen
Tough he acknowledges that it isn’t always feasible,
Garber recommends meeting with the homeowner or property owners at dusk or after dark to get a holistic view of a property’s existing lighting.
Plant material
Landscape lighting is used to create a focal point, to high- light architectural details and to bring out the beauty of a landscape design. Te right kind of light will complement both the color of the architecture and the plant material around it. For a new build or a renovation, understanding the plant
material will be helpful in deciding where to place fixtures. “I would want to be in there before the shrubbery so we
THE NUMBER ONE MISTAKE THAT I SEE ALL THE TIME IS USING WAY TOO MUCH LIGHT,” GARBER SAYS. “LESS IS BEST IN LANDSCAPE LIGHTING.”
– T Garber, EryAlen
can talk about how big it is going to get and how far away it will be from the structure,” Garber says. “You want to find out how the plant material will grow and how it will be trimmed. You don’t want a shrub to grow over your fixture and lose the light.” It’s also important to determine what effect you’re aim- ing to achieve. Are you aiming to light up the architecture? Do you want to highlight the shrubbery? Are you trying to silhouette a tree or shrub against the wall of a building? Tere’s a lighting application for each of those options. “Some plants or shrubbery have leaves that are some shade of green, but the underside are silvery or white, and you can uplight those types of trees so it shows the under- side of the leaf,” Garber says. “You would use a 4,000 K light to reflect off the underside of that leaf. Tat type of effect takes more experience and time to develop.”
Common lighting mistakes
While choosing the correct color temperature is fairly sub- jective, Garber cautions that there is one big mistake to avoid. “Te number one mistake that I see all the time is using
way too much light,” Garber says. “Less is best in landscape lighting.”
Lighting should be used selectively to highlight features
of a landscape. Lighting every 6-8 feet is not only unneces- sary, it’s unsightly, as it ultimately washes out the elements you aim to feature.
28 Irrigation & Lighting March 2023
“You don’t want to wash out any of the elements of
the architecture of the building or the plant material,” Garber says. “If you have something so bright that you can’t see there are mortar lines in the brick, it’s aimed the wrong direction or you’re using too much light. If you’re uplighting a tree, you wouldn’t want to use three lights on a 4-foot tree.”
Finding balance through trial and error
Mastering landscape lighting is the same as mastering any other challenge, says Garber. It’s simply a matter of honing the craft through practice. “No beginner can go in there and hit it out of the park
the very first time,” he says. “Practice. Get out there and do practice installations in your own backyard, in your neighbor’s backyard. Get out there and practice before you do your installations.” Even experienced lighting designers will go back to
a job after dark and tweak the installation by moving a fixture over or switching out a bulb or two. “Go back and fine-tune when everything is installed and make sure the colors are right,” Garber says. “You can add or subtract fixtures or change the placement to get the right look.”
In addition to hands-on practice, Garber also recom- mends learning from more experienced contractors. “Join an organization, get involved, get a mentor, talk
to people, get other people’s opinions and practice every- thing,” he says. “Don’t operate in a vacuum. Join an orga- nization that can help you with your skills.” Because color preferences are subjective and based on
factors including surrounding homes or buildings, am- bient light and personal preference, there are few hard- and-fast rules or requirements. But Garber does offer one piece of advice for contractors who are tasked with select- ing a color for landscape lighting. “As long as you stay away from 4,000 and 5,000 K col- or temperatures, you’re probably doing OK,” Garber says. “Something in the 2,700 K to 3,000 K range is great.”
Lauren Sable Freiman is a freelance writer based in Cleveland and can be reached at
laurensablefreiman@gmail.com.
irrigationandlighting.org
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