The two elements keeping the rest of us out were cost and installation. Actually, cost was a two-parter in its own right. Not only were the lights expensive, but installation wasn’t something your average Joe or Jane could readily tackle as earlier landscape lighting options were relatively dangerous electrical things to install. So purchasing the lights was prohibitive and paying a professional electrician to do the work placed the option outside many people’s range. But then came Malibu.

I’m not talking about everybody’s favorite Baywatch destination, I’m talking about the landscape lighting company (and others like it) famous for making landscape lighting accessible to the rest of us through the production of low-cost, safe, low-voltage, easy to install landscape lighting kits. If you’ve spent any time in a hardware store looking for a reasonably priced landscape lighting option, you’ve probably seen their products.

Now I do want to clear one thing up right from the start and that’s to point out that Malibu doesn’t just make inexpensive landscape lighting kits. They are a premier maker of high end landscape lighting as well. But that’s for another post down the road. For now, recognize that if you’re in the market for super affordability, Malibu is the way to go. Don’t believe me?

The LX10610T25 Malibu outdoor landscape lighting kit featured in the image above is just one example of how accessible Malibu has made things to the budget-conscious consumer. This kit contains 10 low-volt tier lights, a 44-watt power pack and a 50 foot cable. How much would you pay for all that? Well if this weren’t a kit, probably hundreds. As it is a kit, I’m looking at it on Amazon for only $27.00.

Other kits by Malibu include the Intermatic LX19610T25 Malibu Outdoor Tier Light/Floodlight Kit with Six One-Light Tier Lights, Four One-Light Floodlights and 44-Watt Power Pack which ships with six single light tier lights, four one-light floodlights and a 44-watt power pack and cable. That one runs a bit more at $31.21 but is still remarkably priced given the number of lights you’re getting.

For those of you with bigger ambitions or larger property to cover, Amazon also sells the Intermatic LX19720T Malibu Outdoor Lighting Kit with Fourteen Tier Lights, Six Floodlights plus 88-Watt Power Pack/Timer, Black. That’s 20 lights, folks, and the cost was around $57.00 for all of that. There have been some complaints surrounding shipping so the product is under review at the moment but I’m sure it will be available again soon. I suspect you’re wondering what the catch is, and, yes, there is one.

I won’t rehash it all here, but there are some sacrifices you make buying an affordable landscape lighting kit in terms of brightness. You can read my extensive post covering the pros and cons of plastic landscape lighting kits for more details but, in a nutshell, the lower melting point of plastic limits the wattage of the bulbs. The good news is that Malibu also offers metal landscape lighting kits which, while pricier than the plastic models, are relatively affordable compared to what you might pay buying lights individually. The kit pictured below, the Malibu LT13976T Low Voltage Garden Light Kit with Four 7-Watt Metal Tier Lights and Two 20-Watt Metal Floodlights, Black comes in at $117 but is metal and offers much higher wattage per light than plastic models.

Don’t Give Up on Plastic Landscape Lighting Kits

But there are also tremendous upsides to plastic kits. Not only are landscape lighting kits such as those sold by Malibu inexpensive to purchase, they are also inexpensive to replace. If a light breaks due to a careless maneuver with a lawnmower, for example, replacing that light will be dirt cheap. Plastic also weathers well, is surprisingly durable and virtually indistinguishable from metal at night. But all those things aside, my big passion for Malibu landscape lighting kits and for the company in general is that their products are super easy to install.

As stated in the product descriptions above, Malibu kits (and non kits) utilize a power pack that converts the 120-watts your outlet provides down to a safe wattage appropriate for your lights. What’s safe? Well, that depends on the number of lights you’re running and their wattage. Say you have eight 10-watt lights. An 88-watt power supply will cover you. Just multiply the wattage of the lights by the number of lights you’ll be using and get a power pack providing a little more juice. The good news is that you don’t even have to bother with the math if you’re installing a kit as the kit comes with an appropriately powerful power pack included!

Hooking the cable that will feed power to the lights up to the power pack is also insanely simple. If you can use a screwdriver, you can do this. The power pack then plugs into your outlet just like any electric tool or appliance and you then run the cable in the pattern you’ll be placing your lights. But the fun doesn’t end there. The next step is attaching the lights to the cable.

Now in the olden days of yore, hooking a light to a cable for outdoor use was a labor that could require waterproof conduit, wire strippers and a fair bit of electrical know-how. Malibu has turned this all into an extremely easy affair a half-stoned monkey with epilepsy could probably pull off. Attaching the lights to the power-feeding cable uses a method I’m familiar with from working with networks back in the primitive days. Rather than cutting and splicing a cable (which effectively reduces its carrying capacity each time it’s done) we could use what was known as a vampire tap to connect a branching run.

To put this into terms you non-network types can understand, basically, a short cable comes from the light and clamps onto the main power cable anywhere you find convenient. The clamp has a metal “tooth” that pierces the outer insulation to contact the copper cable inside. Once clamped, simply screw it into place and you’re done. I can’t over emphasize how simple it is. Again, if you can use a screwdriver, you can do this all yourself.

So I realized I’m going on and on with another rambling post here. I guess I should wrap things up and summarize. Malibu specializes in outdoor lighting and offers fantastic, high-end lights. But, they’ve also made landscape lighting affordable and doable for those on a budget with low-cost, low-voltage, easy-to-install landscape lighting kits. Just know what you are getting before you buy. Sorry for the self promotion but definitely read my earlier post on the upside and downside of landscape lighting kits before you make your purchase. If, after reading that post, you still feel that a kit is the perfect solution for you, you simply can’t go wrong for the price.

On the not-so-grand a scale are the little snafus that have unintended consequences. In keeping with the theme of this blog, that means landscape lighting mistakes that can really piss off your neighbors.

You wouldn’t be the first and you certainly wouldn’t be the last were you to painstakingly setup the most amazing landscape lighting scheme only to wind up with lights shining directly into your neighbor’s windows. Nor would you be the first to hear about it either directly, through nasty note or through a community board investigation. The good news is that you can do a great deal to head off any potential ill-will.

It’s worth repeating as I have in other posts, that planning is your friend. Take the time to layout your design on paper before you begin work. As you do your garden walk through and jot down on paper where you’d like to place lights, stop at each location and look beyond your own garden to see where light spillover might intrude on your neighbor. This doesn’t mean you can’t place a light in that location, just that you’ll have to work with angles and accessories to ensure you’re not intruding on their lives.

As you put your lights in and test the angle of light they cast, step back and look over at your neighbor’s property. Any light spilling over onto their house or windows should prompt you to work on the angle a bit to eliminate the spillover. Don’t assume that the small amount of spillover is fine. What looks good from your angle may be glaring from theirs.

Not every light you install will warrant such careful consideration. Path lighting is designed to spread a pool of light downwards and is low enough in intensity to prevent offending all but the most easily offended neighbor. If you have such a neighbor, the kind who is just looking for something to complain about, you probably can’t win anyway.

On the other hand, spotlights or outdoor tree lights are often elevated above fence height and produce directional light. These can easily wind up illuminating areas of your neighbor’s property so you should pay particular care as you put them in. When you purchase such lights, invest in louvers for them. Not only will this allow you additional flexibility as you paint your yard with light, it will give you even more control over how much of that light spills over to where it isn’t wanted.

As mentioned, outdoor tree lights are a cause for concern. In fact, lights mounted in trees are probably the single greatest offenders here. When you mount lights in trees for moon lighting or down-lighting a seating area, you do so with your guests in mind. You do everything you can to avoid blinding them with light. The problem is that the angle from which you are viewing may look perfectly fine but the branches which are obstructing your view of the light sources may not be doing so from your neighbor’s perspective.

Even all the caution in the world doesn’t remove the obligation to be neighborly. When everything is installed, knock on your neighbor’s door and let them know you’ll be turning on all your landscape lighting that night to ensure none of it is a nuisance to them. Advise them to check in all their most occupied rooms and to let you know if any of the lights are bothersome. If they sign off on your project, you’re good to go and you may just have made a new friend by being courteous and considerate of their feelings.

Finally, think about using timers. For the most part a fully outfitted landscape lighting scheme won’t require timers. Most of us will only use our deck lights most of the time and reserve the full light-show for when we have guests over. For those who like to have all the lights blazing in the evenings and who might plan to go away on a vacation, ensure your timers will turn off your lights at a reasonable hour so as not to disturb your neighbors with the ambient glow.

There’s no reason you can’t enjoy the beauty of landscape lighting and keep the peace with your neighbors. A little bit of planning, testing and consideration go a long way. And while you’re at it, invite your neighbors over to your gatherings now and again. They’ll be far more tolerant of your lights if they get to enjoy them now and again rather than just being forced to endure them from a distance.

When I set out to write my post on outdoor tree lights and lighting techniques, I really only considered moon lighting down through branches or using trees as convenient elevated mounting for down-lighting seating or features. A trip to the city with my wife and a stroll down a beautifully lit plaza for some evening shopping convinced me I was missing a potential lighting opportunity you may wish to consider.

Outdoor tree lights can have one of (or a combination of) four objectives. You can focus on illuminating or showcasing the tree itself, subtly illuminate the tree from within to cast interesting shadows, use the tree strictly as an anchor point for lights that will illuminate other objects or you can use the tree as a framework to show off the lights. Which approach you elect to use can be influenced by any number of considerations.

As emphasized in previous posts, showcasing any plant, statue, tree or object requires an interesting specimen. Certainly, every plant or tree is not worthy of the investment of time or energy (in terms of installation and maintenance) to be cast in a spotlight. In thinking about outdoor tree lights meant specifically to up-light, spotlight or highlight a tree, you want a tree with character. That’s a bit open to interpretation but interesting bark, leaves, color or branch shapes are your primary criteria.

I’ve covered moon lighting trees with outdoor tree lights pretty well already in a previous post. Where the previous strategy employs techniques to illuminate the outside of a tree, moon lighting works from the inside out. The effect is two-fold. You want to capture the shape and form of a tree’s branches and/or use the interior, downward light to cast dappled shadows on the ground below.

The third option is less of a tree lighting method than it is a method of lighting other things. But, given that the lights are mounted IN trees, it only seems right to fit this in the outdoor tree lights category. Aside from being beautiful additions to any yard, trees are also extremely convenient in that they offer an almost infinite diversity in light mounting options. Not only are you free to mount lights to target any number of angles, branches at different height give you a fair degree of flexibility in lighting elevations and spread. This means if you have a seating area you’d like lit from above or some ornamentation that would best be shown in top-down lighting, your tree may provide an optimal mounting location for your lights.

Finally, I mentioned using a tree as a framework for lights. Your objective in using outdoor tree lights in this presentation is to show off the lights rather than the tree. What I’m referring to here are string lights gracefully incorporated into a tree’s form so that the limbs seem to be graced by the presence of thousands of fireflies. This particular application of outdoor tree lighting takes on different forms. In some cases, the limbs of the tree are emphasized. In other instances, the overall form of the tree is shown off. Or, lights may simply be incorporated randomly within the tree much like a holiday Christmas tree.

Which approach is best suited for your particular situation depends on several factors, preference among them. But all but one can be very maintenance intensive endeavors. Not only must you run power to these lights, you must get up into the tree to do so. Climbing around like a monkey for the initial installation is only part of the battle, though. You’ll most likely undertake that activity during the day to better see what you’re doing. You’ll then need to get back into the tree in the evening to adjust any lights you aren’t happy with. Worse, you’ll likely have to repeat the effort once a year to readjust lights or change bulbs. Of all the landscape lighting options out there, outdoor tree lights probably represent the most challenging in terms of maintenance.

Of course, climbing into trees to install lights brings up some serious safety concerns. While some of this may not need mentioning, I’m going to mention it anyway. Be safe! If at all possible, use a ladder rather than climbing onto branches. What appears to be a perfectly sound branch may break once you’ve put your full weight on it. Have a helper handy to hold the ladder as well. That last emphasizes the point that you should never do this work alone. Have a spotter handy. Even if they contribute little or nothing to the effort, they are your lifeline should you fall out of the tree and be incapable of calling for help.

I am a regular rock climber. I’m not a professional, but I’m pretty good. I routinely navigate inverted surfaces and scale hundreds of feet. To put the importance of safety into context, there are those who could climb circles around me; pros, who have died while doing tree pruning for some extra money in their spare time. It only takes a fall of six feet to kill you if you land on your head or neck. So, last time, be careful, be safe, have help handy. Take whatever precautions you can, even if they seem a bit over the top. You’ll enjoy your lights a lot more if you’re alive to see them lit.

Of the outdoor tree light options listed, obviously the easiest to maintain and install is the kind in which you shine lights up into the tree. This requires no aerobatics on your part and maintenance is as simple as bending over. Though I’ll reserve specifics for a future, detailed post, your only real considerations are the types of landscaping lights you want to use (recessed, spotlight, etc) and viewing angles so as not to blind visitors to your yard. I’ll also point out an advantage to this style of lighting and that’s reflection.

You see objects and color because of light bouncing off those objects. A benefit of the nature of light is that when you illuminate an object, you also illuminate (to a much lesser degree) the objects that reflected light reaches. For a perfect example of this you just need to go outside on a clear night with a full moon. I routinely walk through the woods near my house on moonlit nights without any problems. The Moon isn’t a light source, just a source of reflection for sunlight. With a fairly generous tree canopy, the light reflected back from your tree lights may even be sufficient to modestly light up the space under the canopy. While probably insufficient to read by (the height of your tree canopy will determine a lot about the intensity of light reaching the ground) it may be sufficient to serve as comfortable mood lighting. That can represent some cost savings to you as you may need less lighting for the space.

Whichever option you choose outdoor tree lights can provide some spectacular results and should, if nothing else, factor into consideration as you plan your landscape lighting layout. You may opt against lighting your trees because of the maintenance complications or because the effect doesn’t fit into your plans, but to forgo consideration entirely would be an oversight. A tastefully lit tree of appropriate specimen is simply a beautiful addition to a garden.

While you may be able to accomplish your goals with a landscape lighting kit, they are neither a fool proof nor perfect solution for all people and all settings. The do-it-yourself approach comes with problems of its own and kits have their limitations. Today’s post will hopefully help guide you through your decision so you can draw an informed conclusion about whether or not a kit is the best option for you.

Clearly the greatest advantage of using a landscape lighting kit is realized in terms of cost savings. Kits can hit some remarkably low prices. One example is a 14 piece light set made by Malibu and available on Amazon for a paltry $52! At those prices you’d almost think yourself foolish NOT to buy it. But before you make the leap, read on.

The cost benefits of kits exist for two reasons. The first is that you do all the work. Rather than having a landscaping professional charge you a sometimes painful amount for the work, you need very minimal skill in electrical work and tool use to get these things in the ground. That said, you will still be investing several hours of your time to get things done. That’s fine if you’re pulling in a middle class income or less, but a well paid lawyer or consultant might actually save more having a pro do the work.

The second (and more important) reason an outdoor lighting kit might cost so little sometimes results in a big disappointment for the consumer. To keep costs down, those super inexpensive lighting kits are made of plastic. That in itself isn’t so bad, but plastic doesn’t respond well to high temperatures. That means the bulbs in those plastic lights have to be relatively low watt bulbs in the range of 20 Watts (for spotlights) or 10 to 15 Watt (for accent lights).

Are low wattage bulbs really such a bad thing? Well, that depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If your goal is to define a border, like along a path, for safety then a low watt light kit is perfectly acceptable. The pools of light cast by these bulbs will be fairly anemic, though, providing less in terms of illumination than you might hope. Essentially, the light itself becomes a beacon of demarcation rather than the fairly inadequate pool of light it will cast.

The 20 Watt spotlights might be fine for illuminating relatively small specimen plants and, used correctly with the background in fairly close proximity, may even allow you to pull of some shadowing effects. Likewise, you can probably uplight smaller tree trunks though you may need to double up on the spotlights to do so. You’ll certainly be hard pressed to effectively uplight the branches of larger trees. Incidentally, we’ll speak a bit more about outdoor tree lights in our next post.

An additional down side is that you’re very limited in style with a kit. You’ll receive a set of one or two different kinds of lights. Generally you’ll get a standard set of post lights for borders and/or a few spotlights. Should you subsequently deem a spot to be better served by recessed lighting or prefer another style entirely, you’re back to square one. There isn’t a lot in the way of creative freedom.

Sounds a little grim so far, but stick with me. My intent here isn’t to turn you off to the idea of inexpensive landscape lighting kits, but to manage your expectations a little. There are certainly upsides to these kits such as, as already mentioned, affordability. I’m even willing to give credit for their plastic construction. Wait, didn’t I just condemn these lights for their plastic construction? Well, yes, because of the low wattage element. But there is a plus.

Plastic landscaping lights may be cheap to construct, but they’re surprisingly tough and durable. In addition, the designs are all but indistinguishable from metal models at night without very close inspection. Another great point is that landscaping lights are subject to all kinds of abuse from people tripping on them to damage from lawnmowers and weathering. Replacing a single metal light can be an expensive proposition. Replacing a single plastic light is a whole other matter and very cost effective.

Ease of installation is another feature you just can’t beat with landscape lighting kits. A few simple tools, a bare-minimum understanding of electrical work and you’re pretty much good to go. Do your research ahead of time, though, to ensure you have everything you need to get the job done.

A final perk with lighting kits is that they allow you entry into what would otherwise be a fairly expensive hobby. For a fairly low cost, you can experiment with placement and approaches to find what you like best and scale up from there.

There are some other issues we could discuss (both in favor and against) but the key is simply this. Know what you’re getting and what your limitations will be. For some of you, inexpensive garden lighting kits will be the perfect fit. Others, with grander ambitions or property to light will be better served by a professional solution or by piecing together their own set of lights that fit their specific needs.

One particular drawback to this type of landscape lighting is that landscape lighting kits are likely not going to include the lights, fasteners or louvers you will need to pull this style of lighting off. Most kits available in your hardware store offer collections of post-mounted lights only. I’ve found a tree mounting kit online but be aware that this kit only includes mounting harnesses, not lights.

To properly moon light an area requires an appropriate tree. Meandering branches, full leaves and interesting bark all lend themselves well to this approach. If your tree isn’t worth showing off or won’t create interesting shadows when lit from above and within, it really isn’t worth going through the effort this effect requires.

This approach requires getting up into your tree to place downward facing lights in the branches. That should immediately bring two things to mind, viewing perspective and maintenance. Let’s address viewing perspective first.

Consider where visitors will view your moonlit tree for best impact. With that spot in mind, picture three locations. Location 1 is the tree trunk. Location 2 is a point in the branches between the viewer and the tree trunk. Location 3 is the viewer’s position. Place your lighting in your tree branches so as best to angle the light away from the viewing position (see illustration).

Speaking of viewing angles, try not to place your lamps at more than a 25 to 30 degree angle from vertical. Over-angling your lighting could make what’s beautiful from within your garden a real nuisance to your neighbors.

That said, if you want to create a pool of shadows encompassing a broad area of the ground or if you have a bench directly beneath the tree, visible light sources may be unavoidable. To best minimize glare, you have two solutions you can employ. Use louvers to help angle light away from primary viewing spots and go for fairly low luminescence. The louvers are simply the equivalent of blinds for landscape lighting which angle the direction of light or block the source from view.

Bulb strengths and types as applied to landscape lighting of any kind is an extensive topic better held for an entire post of its own but, for moon lighting, recognize that you want to go fairly low strength. For small trees with low placed lights, you may end up going as low as 20-watt up to about 50-watt for large trees. Factors which will dictate the appropriate wattage are the height of light placement and density of foliage.

I mentioned maintenance as an important factor because, unlike other landscape lighting applications, moon lighting will require more effort to maintain. After all, your yearly maintenance will require you getting back up into that tree to adjust angels, fasteners, change bulbs or reaffix cabling. As your tree grows or spreads new branches, light positions that worked before may need to be adjusted. All in all, I think the effect is worth the effort, but if you are elderly or suffer from any physical challenges, this is one application in which you may want to give serious consideration to hiring professionals or friends to assist you.

One final item worth noting is the common mistake of failing to light the trunk of the tree that is moon lit. This oversight leaves the branches and leaves appearing to float unattached in the air as what is lit becomes visible and what isn’t, well, isn’t. While that may seem to carry some interesting appeal, the result doesn’t translate well in reality. The brain expects branches and leaves to be anchored by a tree trunk. With that in mind, remember that a good moon lighting application should, in most cases, include and up-lit tree trunk.

The dappled shadows of a moon lit tree falling on a path or seating area are beautiful. If you have the right tree in which to apply this technique and are willing to go through the effort, I highly recommend this as a wonderful landscape lighting application. Just be sure to be safe and recognize that professional help may be needed for this one.

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.

Thinking logically about outdoor landscape lighting, you should have realized by now that you’re really only getting the benefit at night. But take a look around your garden during the day time and expand the depth of your vision beyond the confines of your garden a bit. What do you see that you don’t like? Looking out over my modest townhouse garden plot and beyond, I see telephone poles and power lines. I see the building across the street. I see taller vehicles such as SUVs and vans parked along the access road behind my garden. None of it adds to the visual appeal of my garden even in the best of circumstances. 

Now bring your focus in and take a look around your garden. Stand in each corner and really “see” what you’re up against. Are there features inside the boundary of your wall or fence that detract from the overall beauty? In my own garden I see the AC unit, electric meters, two trashcans, a hose caddy and a grill. All of these are useful and I really can’t do without them but none are particularly attractive. Does your garden contain similar features you’d rather were invisible when hosting or entertaining? 

It’s with these unappealing elements in mind where your landscape lights really have the opportunity to shine. Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun. The point is that landscaping lighting trumps daylight for the simple reason that daylight illuminates everything. The ugly telephone poles, the power lines, the neighbor’s property and surrounding buildings, and anything else you wish weren’t visible and detracting from the overall theme and beauty of your prize garden. 

Well planned outdoor garden lighting affords you the opportunity to feature only those elements that should “pop” while the absence of that brilliant bulb in the sky in the evening leaves those undesirable features conveniently hidden. It’s one of the reasons I’m such a fan of hosting events at night. Great features such as a pond, a beautiful tree accented by up-lighting, or a whimsically lit garden path serve attract the eye to what you want seen. Meanwhile, all the rest is hidden in the convenient blanket of the night. 

So before you dig a trench for your conduit or purchase landscape lighting kits, have a good look around and think not just about what you want to highlight but also about what you want to hide. With outside lighting, it’s as much about what isn’t lit as about what is.