The Beauty and Challenges of Outdoor Tree Lights
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.
Filed Under Landscape Lighting Trees, Outdoor Tree Lights |
Tagged With landscaping, landscaping lights, outdoor landscaping lights, outdoor tree lighting, Outdoor Tree Lights
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