As the days get longer, we’re all dreaming about spending warm summer nights on the patio, enjoying the company of friends and family. For backyards that could use a spruce-up before the entertaining season, here are some tips on using textured materials and outdoor lighting to add interest to a Harrisburg, PA, landscape after dark.

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Outdoor living spaces need lighting to make them welcoming after dark. Many people simply have a floodlight mounted on the house. While this brightly illuminates the patio, it leaves the rest of the landscape looking like a scary black void. It casts harsh shadows, and the bright light can make the space feel like a sports stadium.

Thoughtfully designed lighting can change how a nighttime landscape is used. Designing a user-friendly and attractive “lightscape” can begin with something every backyard has: texture. Here are a few ways to highlight textures while creating ambiance and providing safety.

Bring attention to vertical elements such as the home, retaining walls, tree trunks, and landscape plants. Position bullet lights or well lights close to the base to highlight rough textures with dramatic results. 

Certain features like gnarled old trees or garden sculptures deserve their own special light treatment. To highlight trees, use a combination of downlights to emphasize the bark and uplights to draw attention to the foliage. For the most pleasing results, focus on just a few trees, including one or two in a darker corner of the landscape.

Retaining walls create more usable space and they are a perfect opportunity to install landscape lighting for a clutter-free approach to design while highlighting the beautiful textures of the retaining wall. 

Any vertical masonry feature can be illuminated. A technique called grazing places fixtures parallel to the vertical element to wash the surface in light. On pillars, retaining walls, or seat walls, coping provides the perfect ledge under which to install discreet light fixtures that highlight the wall’s textures. Light fixtures can also be installed at ground level and pointed upward parallel to the vertical surface to achieve the same highly textured effect.  

Small uplights highlight smaller vertical elements like shrubs or ornamental grasses. In planting beds, space light fixtures at least 20 feet apart to draw attention to individual plants and add dimension without adding too much light.

Highlight smooth walls with a soft wash light to provide an interesting contrast to more prominent textures; or, use a technique called shadowing. Shadowing involves creating a silhouette of a tall object like a tree or a sculpture, creating a smooth wall behind it.  

To illuminate walkways, use moonlighting (soft blue-tinted downlighting positioned high in a tree canopy to mimic the look of moonlight filtering through the foliage) for a beautiful dappled effect; or, position light fixtures low to the ground to enhance walkway textures while lighting the way.

Use light to bring water features to life after dark. Underwater lights create amazingly textured and dynamic reflections on all surfaces around a pool, pond, waterfall, or fountain.

Creating an attractive “lightscape” involves artistry as well as technical knowledge. It’s more than saying, “this area needs more light.” It’s choosing the right quality of light for each application to create specific experiences. From softly illuminating a fireside gathering spot to highlighting the texture of a stacked fieldstone wall, every lighting experience requires a different type of fixture, fixture positioning, and bulb wattage. 

Stop by and let our friendly and knowledgeable lighting experts guide you through the choices!

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