Dramatic Landscape Lighting Effects with Mirroring
Posted by Kathleen | Filed under Landscape Lighting Effects
You’ve most likely marveled at the beauty of a mountain scene reflected in a still lake or an architectural feature such as the Lincoln Memorial or the Washington Memorial inverted in the reflecting pool. This stunning effect can be emulated in your own backyard and scaled up dramatically by incorporating landscape lighting.
The benefit of using landscape lighting to reproduce a mirrored image of a particular garden feature is that the result is even more dramatic at night. The absence of light on the water of a reflecting pond leaves it black and of apparently infinite depth. The trick is to illuminate the feature you want to mirror rather than the water in which it is to be mirrored.
The image at the beginning of this post, of the reflecting pool at the Tomb of Hafez in Iran, shows how beautiful illuminated architecture and trees appear when reflected in still water. A gazebo or decorative wall can be equally stunning but don’t forget statuary which can be dramatically set and lit to reflect.
As important as what you are lighting is how you are lighting it. Your objective is to illuminate only the feature or features you want reflected. In laying out your lighting scheme, do your best to minimize the amount of light that directly reaches the water feature. It should only be light reflected from the object that reaches the water.
Finally, as you layout your design and plan your mirrored pool, consider perspective. This is a striking lighting plan and it should be planned with striking impact in mind. Consider the flow of traffic through your garden or positions of view such as from a main window in the home, from a seating area in your garden or an approaching path that brings the stunning reflection suddenly into view.
Planning landscape lighting to mirror an object takes a commitment of time and the end result requires a commitment of space. A reflecting pool isn’t something you can just relocate on a whim so if you opt for this garden lighting strategy, you want to do your best to get it right from the start. The payoff can be the show-piece of your garden, day or night; something that guests won’t be able to help but notice and remember.
Tags: garden lighting, landscape lighting, lighting effects, mirroring, reflecting pond, reflecting pool
