A dacha is a kind of outlet for a city dweller, a breath of fresh air, relaxation for soul and body. It is for this simple reason that a city dweller pays so much attention to the design of his summer cottage - he creates beautiful flower beds, lawns, installs various kinds of decor and pays a lot of attention to illuminating all this beauty at night. After all, it is the coolness of the evening after a hot and sultry day that allows you to fully enjoy the beauty of man-made nature. We will talk about garden lighting in this article, in which, together with the website, we will talk about the principles of its independent production.
Do-it-yourself garden lighting photo
Garden lighting: five rules for optimal garden lighting
Modern people put forward only two main requirements for garden lighting - efficiency in operation and efficiency in perception. In order for the backlight to meet these requirements 100%, you must adhere to five basic rules.
To learn how to make decorative lighting in the garden yourself, watch this video.
And the last, most important rule says that the location of each individual must be justified and carefully thought out. It should be understood that decorative lighting of a garden plot is not a random jumble of lighting fixtures, but a full-fledged composition of them, in which, together and separately, the lamps must have a meaning.
DIY garden lighting: manufacturing principle
As a rule, on a summer cottage there is a lot of stuff that can be illuminated in one way or another - this is the house itself, and , and , and , connecting the whole thing into a single composition, and even trees and so on. All this is illuminated in various ways and using various lighting devices - a lot depends on the correct choice of the light source, and special attention should be paid to this point.
To sum up, we can only say one thing - by and large, apart from various kinds of design intrigues, the choice of lighting fixtures for the garden is very meager. Globally, these are various types of network and solar lamps, as well as fluorescent stones. There is not much to choose from, and that is why it is best to focus your attention on the design of the lamps. Naturally, one should not lose sight of the smaller nuances, which we will talk about later.
Do-it-yourself garden lighting: choice is everything
In addition to the main nuances of choosing lighting devices for illuminating the garden, there are also a lot of small ones, ignoring which leads to nothing. It should be understood that in such matters there are no trifles, and it is they (minor nuances) that together create the complete picture of the garden. When choosing lighting fixtures, it is advisable to pay attention to the following points.
What else do you need to know about garden lighting? There is no doubt that almost any type of lighting device for a summer house can be quite easily made with your own hands from scrap materials. You can use almost anything, but among the most common objects of human life, a special place is given here to various jars, flasks, etc. These are almost ready-made shades that provide reliable protection of the light source from rain. Naturally, you will have to try a little to give such a lighting device a more or less attractive look. In principle, this is the creative process, without which this matter cannot be done.
For practicality and aesthetics, it is necessary to provide garden lighting. Illumination of trees, bushes, artificial ponds and paths looks very beautiful.
Moreover, you can admire your garden even after dark. The lighting of an area should be approached no less responsibly than the lighting of a room. A room equipped not only with a chandelier, but also with additional lighting fixtures looks much more comfortable. However, it is necessary to observe moderation, otherwise you can get the opposite effect.
To install electrical wires to illuminate a garden plot, you need to lay them underground, in a previously dug trench.
The trench is made with a minimum depth of 45 cm and has a hard covering on top in the form of paths or platforms. Laying wiring under flower beds, flower beds and lawns should be done at a depth of 60 cm. To protect electrical wiring, use a flexible hose that is not afraid of temperature changes, rotting and mechanical stress.
Don't forget to prepare a place to install a machine with switches.
If you have not previously dealt with conducting electricity, it is advisable to seek help from professionals, thereby protecting yourself.
Outdoor lighting devices must be waterproof, frost-resistant and not subject to rust.
Types of garden lanterns:
- Suspended gazebos, patios or terraces fixed to the ceiling surface.
- Spotlights with directional luminous flux.
- Wall lamps designed to illuminate recreation areas.
- Floor (bollards) with a height of 30 to 60 cm.
To illuminate a small area, you should choose compact lanterns with a soft, pleasant light. Lamps with a height of more than 60 cm will cause discomfort, since the luminous flux will be located at eye level and will be blinding.
By purchasing lights with a pointed tip, you can move them around until you find the optimal location.
Pay attention not only to the decor, but also to the functionality of the lantern, otherwise it will please the eye only during daylight hours and give off an unpleasant light at night.
Pay attention to outdoor garlands, which look very impressive on a tree, arch or patio. Thus, you will create a constant presence of the holiday on the site.
Devices powered by solar batteries will free you from working with electricity and help you save money. Their light is not enough to illuminate the area, but they are quite suitable for illuminating beautiful plants or decorative elements.
They are ideal for a small area that you only visit in the summer. In addition, they can be easily removed if necessary.
We invite you to watch a video that will tell you how to make an unusual garden lantern with your own hands.
Rules
An upward stream of light will illuminate tall bushes, buildings and tree crowns. Downward-directed light illuminates smaller plants. Preference should be given to warm and not very bright lighting.
When planning the lighting of a garden plot, you need to think through everything carefully. Each lantern should not only perform its direct function, but also be a decorative element, appropriately located between plants and decorative elements on the site.
To illuminate the path, provide small lanterns in the shape of mushrooms, otherwise it will be light everywhere except on the paths themselves.
If there is a special seating area in the garden, highlight it with soft, warm, diffused light.
With a little creative thinking, you can turn a boring garden area into a real masterpiece.
The garden around the house has long ceased to be just a source of growing fruit and an area for garden beds.
Competent landscape design will allow you to turn your garden into a comfortable recreation area, a playground for children or a small and cozy park.
To do this, it is not enough to properly plan your garden area and select plants. After all, an ideal design is a kind of mosaic, an important detail of which is lighting.
Thoughtful lighting of the area will not only allow you to move comfortably in the dark, but will also create a special atmosphere and emphasize the unusual shapes of shrubs and flowers that can only be seen at dusk.
Regardless of whether you bought lighting devices or made them yourself, it is very important that they combine functional and decorative properties, decorating your garden during daylight hours.
Using imagination and a few interesting lighting ideas, you can make the most unusual objects “light up”.
Types of site lighting:
- main lighting
- focused decorative
- lighting of garden paths and steps
- lighting for recreation areas, gazebos, patios
- illumination of a pond, masonry (hidden lamps)
- decorative
Focused mood lighting- this is directed lighting of exactly those areas of the garden that you want to highlight and place emphasis on. It could be a flower bed with bright flowers, a garden sculpture, a pond, a tree, or just a green lawn.
Places of focused illumination are the first to attract the eye, so it is worth experimenting with the direction of the light, brightness and degree of diffusion. An interesting idea for such lighting could be lamps installed around trees or shrubs with a dense crown: the rays of light will emphasize the shape of the tree and create fancy shadows on the ground.
Light-accumulating lamps- one of the varieties of focused illumination. It’s easy to place such a flashlight; just stick it into the ground where you would like to illuminate it: near a topiary boxwood, along paths, on an alpine hill.
Lighting for garden paths and steps should not be too bright and blinding to the eyes. The lower the light source is to the ground, the less bright it should be. When lighting stairs, each step should be highlighted with light. Light-diffusing lanterns built into the ground or solar-powered lamps will ideally perform this function.
Lighting for recreation areas, gazebos, patios, is no less important than the lighting of the garden itself, because it is a relaxing place where you can gather in the evening or on a cloudy day. Typically, such places are located where there is less sunlight, so lamps with an electric power source are used here. By the way, you can read about recreation areas in the garden on our website!
Depending on the style and the mood you want to create, the lighting can be either spotlighted or bright, filling the entire space. Often, lamps for a recreation area are created with your own hands.
DIY lamp ideas
In any home you can always find a lot of interesting, old things that you haven’t used for a long time, but it’s a pity to throw them away... With a little imagination, you can give these items a second life.
Recently, designers have been using unusually shaped glass jars and bottles, as well as old dishes and kitchen utensils. From all this you can create unique lamps, floor lamps and even entire chandeliers. This lamp is ideal for lighting a gazebo or illuminating paths.
A lamp built into a stump, dried tree or natural stone will fit perfectly into the design of the garden. It looks very impressive, natural and gives a mysterious atmosphere to your site.
The light source can also be built into ceramic products. These can be either purchased figurines of fairy-tale characters or garden sculptures, or old decorative jugs and pots.
Illumination of the pond and hidden lamps. Modern lighting devices will allow you to take a fresh look at the pond near your home, especially when it lights up with new colors in the dark. Lamps installed around a pond, floating or underwater, will definitely change the appearance of the pond and your mood.
Hidden lamps are often installed in stone or brickwork, retaining walls. They are used for their intended purpose and usually do not serve any decorative purpose. The decor in this version of the lamp is the light itself: its direction, color, brightness.
Advice: When connecting lighting to the electrical network yourself, it is important to adhere to safety precautions, and if you do not have experience working with electricity, then it is better to entrust the connection to professionals.
Published by DecorateMe. Updated 09 Aug 2019. Proper lighting of the garden plot will solve several problems at once. Firstly, garden lighting will highlight the beauty of the landscape at night. Secondly, garden lighting will help hide all the “roughness” of the design and those imperfections that may be impossible to “shade” in daylight. Thirdly, do-it-yourself garden lighting will once again prove what a skilled owner you are, who, in addition to all your advantages, also has the skills of an electrician.
Daylight does not have such capabilities; all objects in the garden are equal in front of it. But with the help of lighting, we ourselves can regulate the light “scenario” of the garden and place the accents we need in any corner of the garden. We can highlight something with light, multiplying the beauty of this object several times, and we can take something into the darkness. By the way, garden lamps are also a design! They also decorate the garden during the day, without light, due to their shape, style, and original elements. In some ways they are close to garden figurines. But the garden is illuminated not only for the sake of “designer special effects”. This is also a safety requirement. Any corner of the garden should be safe and accessible in the evening and at night, since almost always there is at least minimal relief in the garden.
Look at the photo - when illuminated in the garden, the area always looks festive:
But even on the most flat area without lighting, complete safety cannot be guaranteed, since a garden is a garden, and therefore you need to take into account precipitation, the possibility of ice, leaf fall, some unevenness in the paving if natural materials are used, and equipment simply left somewhere on the path .
Arrangement of decorative garden lighting
The location of garden lamps depends on the type of lighting.
The main lighting has a practical function. It just illuminates. The most powerful light sources are usually used here. The site must be safe to move around in the dark.
The main lighting is located: in places of the most intense travel routes; in the locations of garden stairs and steps; in places with difficult terrain changes; along the paths; at the porch of the house and at the entrances to all outbuildings; at gazebos and in gazebos; in rest areas; near bodies of water.
Additional types of garden lamps do not illuminate, but only illuminate, but this is enough for practical purposes. Here you can use less powerful light sources. The goal is for the outline of an object or the path of a path to be visible in general terms, and the difference in relief to be noted.
This lighting is installed:
- in places that are not frequently visited, for example, in remote recreation areas, near some utility premises that you rarely use;
- all “extra” tracks. No path can be left without lighting at all.
Decorative lighting can be done separately, or maybe in combination with any of the above two types. This lighting is for beauty, it is only decorative lighting. All kinds of special lamps and lighting designed for this purpose are used here. Safety precautions no longer play a role here; you yourself must determine what first of all you want to draw the attention of the beholder, but there are also some starting points.
Decorative lighting is available:
- in the most beautiful places in the garden;
- have beautiful designs;
- on retaining walls;
- on the catwalks;
- near bodies of water;
- next to rocky compositions, alpine slides;
- for your original compositions;
- next to the most expressive garden figures;
- next to the most beautiful plants.
DIY garden lighting designs
The main, visible part of garden lighting is lamps. The second part is “engineering”: these are wires and pipes of small diameter into which wires are laid (for stationary lamps). And, of course, facade switches are used for the lamps.
On sale now you can find stunningly beautiful lamps for every taste. Therefore, it is hardly advisable to make lamps yourself.
When choosing a garden lighting design with your own hands, first of all, you should pay attention to electric garden lamps. They come in the form of lanterns, garden lights, hidden lights and pond lights.
As you can see in the photo, each type of garden lamps has its own characteristics. For decorative garden lighting, high power bulbs are not necessary; 25 W will be more than enough.
Decorative lamps for the garden: lanterns and garden lighting
Garden lights are needed most often in the garden! Usually these are lampshades of various designs on legs of different heights, but there are also hanging garden lanterns (like sconces in an apartment). The design of the lampshades must match the style of the garden. Sometimes on sale you can find lampshades that seem to have been created specifically for the Art Nouveau or Baroque style. So it is, for the most popular garden styles, shades are produced in these styles. But if you have your own, author’s style, a universal recommendation would still be to purchase neutral models, as they say, they “can be styled to suit any style.”
As you can see in the photo, designer garden lighting is not just decorated lampshades. Sometimes the “legs” of ground lamps are also decorated in some manner, but this is less common, usually the “legs” are of a neutral design, in the form of tubes. Therefore, there is an opportunity to save! Buy only lampshades, and you can make the “legs” yourself from sections of metal pipes of the desired height. The best color to paint them is black or gray. The so-called “Kuzbasslak” is suitable for painting decorative lamps for the garden.
Hanging lanterns do not have “legs”; they can be mounted on the walls of buildings, on pergolas, arches, gazebos, structures for vertical gardening and on trees. If you place lamps on trees, then they need to be mounted on brackets with soft pads. If it is a dry tree, it needs to be screwed to thick branches.
Garden lighting brings out the beauty of plants and landscape architecture elements. Active lighting is a variety of spotlights. They can be placed on the ground and can be suspended. The spotlights themselves are low lamps; they do not have “legs”. Spotlights produce extremely bright light. Spotlights “highlight” those objects that need to be brought to the fore. As a rule, they are placed unnoticed or hidden among plants. But it’s better not to overdo it with spotlights, because a garden is not a stadium. But soft lighting for lighting in the garden with your own hands is used more often and is welcome in any quantity! Usually these are small lamps placed where it is decided to emphasize something. They can be used to selectively illuminate some single plants, compositions, sculptures, and other objects.
Garden lighting is often “floor-mounted,” that is, built into paving or wood flooring. As a rule, the backlight is hidden; the main character is still not it, but what it highlights.
But there are also backlights of unusual shapes, for example, in the form of a luminous horseshoe, in the form of a flat strip, in the form of a spiral, in the form of a garland! Then you don’t have to hide them, such lighting has an independent decorative value, they are beautiful even during the day.
Hidden lamps and pond lighting
Hidden lamps are purely technical devices, not decorative at all. Their design is designed to be built in somewhere. Let's just say that they are of increased strength, and, as a rule, in a special “braid”. Hidden lamps are built into masonry and placed between structural elements. For example, they can be built into the frame of a flower bed. Typically, places for installation are provided in advance during construction.
The lighting of reservoirs is specially designed for staying under water; such lamps are always sealed and moisture resistant. There can be nothing “independent” here! It is better to purchase lamps from well-known companies, since quality and safety must be guaranteed.
Lamps for ponds come in two types: underwater and floating on the surface of the water. There are also underwater lamps, they are usually fiber optic. Floating lamps are round in shape and come in a variety of sizes. There are huge, and in addition, colored lamps!
How to Install Solar Garden Lighting
These lights don't require any wires and there's no digging required! Solar-powered lamps have a soft, not strong, yellow or bluish light that is pleasant to the eye. They accumulate energy from the sun during the day and glow when darkness falls. They cannot provide the same luminous intensity as electric ones, and therefore should be used mostly as garden lighting or in combination with electric lamps.
If you don’t know how to install solar-powered garden lighting and think it’s not easy, put your fears aside - such lights are extremely easy to install: they simply stick into the ground, and it’s just as easy to move them to different places. As a result, you have the opportunity to change the appearance of the garden at will. These are ideal illumination properties for plants; they are perfect for decorating flower beds, groups of plants, shrubs and conifers.
Models of solar-powered lamps for garden lighting
These lamps are the most decorative. Models of solar-powered lamps for garden lighting are presented in the widest range, there are even samples in the form of figures, flowers, stones! This is impossible for ordinary electric lamps. There are also floating varieties! And this is an excellent and safe alternative to installing expensive water electric lamps.
Do-it-yourself garden lighting technology
Do-it-yourself garden lighting cannot be planned arbitrarily, without taking into account electrics.
This is too serious a question. Electrical wiring for garden lighting is hidden; it does not pass along the surface. This means that if you did not have a preliminary plan and laid it out “roughly”, then later, when buildings, flower beds and recreation areas appear in the garden, it may end up “out of place”, not where it is needed. And if a breakdown occurs, you will need to find its source. Without a plan, you can only guess where and what happened. As a result, you will have to dig up the entire area, along with the beauty created with such labor.
If you have drawn up a plan, but the wiring is done poorly, your lamps will burn for at most two years, and then the scenario is the same: digging up the area and organizing the lighting again. A garden electrical plan is needed in any case: if you install the electrician yourself, it will be your guide, and if you call professional electricians, they will draw up their own plan based on your sketch, which will then be kept with you.
Garden lighting technology is not so simple and it is advisable, of course, to use the services of professionals, because there are many nuances in proper lighting, especially if your garden has a large and complex topography. If you have a lighting plan, any problem can be solved without digging up the area, because according to the plan you will know, and in exact coordinates, where everything goes. To make your electrical plan, you just need to make a copy of your final “design project” of the garden and on it mark with symbols the locations of all your future garden lamps and lighting elements, of course, only stationary ones, for which it will be necessary to lay electrical wiring. As a symbol, draw a red circle with a cross inside.
Installation of permanent garden lighting
Installation of stationary garden lighting is carried out at a depth of at least 0.8 m in a corrugated hose, which, in turn, is inserted into a metal or plastic pipe of the appropriate diameter. If in some places there will be flower beds, rock gardens, small ponds, then the laying depth in such places should be at least 1 m. Wiring should not be placed directly under large reservoirs; it is necessary to find a different laying trajectory. And if groundwater is close to your site, then the bottom of the trench into which the pipe is laid must be lined with additional bricks or crushed stone.
In the same way, it’s a good idea to play it safe in areas where particularly massive objects are located and in the case of ordinary soils.
All outdoor garden lights must have switches and must be designed for outdoor use. Switches can be located in the house, but they must be duplicated on the site, otherwise it will be inconvenient to regulate the lighting of the site: in order to turn on the next lamps, you will need to go into the house every time. Sockets (also intended for outdoor use) are also required on the site; it is enough to install them in several “strategic” places. This is convenient: for example, you somehow need to connect a lawn mower or trimmer.
In order not to get lost in your own garden, when it’s already dark outside and you can’t see anything, you need to create artificial lighting and illuminate your entire suburban area with it. If previously all the lighting of the area in front of the house was reduced to only one single lantern, today more and more attention is being paid to the lighting of the garden and vegetable garden, as well as the territory of the site. Lighting of a summer cottage. 50 photos of options for your dacha, garden, personal plot.
Artificial lighting of the garden area in front of the house can be divided into two types. The first one is functional lighting, and the second one is decorative lighting.
Functional lighting
The first type is intended for functional lighting, that is, it directly resists darkness, and for this reason this type of lighting is installed right near the entrance to the house, garage, bathhouse and other buildings on the site. Lighting of a summer cottage photo: 
In addition, those lighting fixtures that distribute light along all garden alleys and driveway paths are considered functional. With all this, designers, or home owners, use lanterns that are located at a height of 1/2 meter to 3 meters. This will depend on the type of lighting in your summer cottage, since you can create it yourself. In addition, what kind of lighting fixture you install in each individual location also plays an important role. 
Lighting devices that have a base direction illuminate only certain areas, and very often can have a cutting effect on the eyes. Their main purpose is to illuminate the most important part of the territory. For example, this could be the entrance to a house or another building, a staircase, or other dangerous areas. It is for this reason that it is important to competently and correctly, sometimes with the help of specialists, fully and completely think through the lighting of the area of a country house, what, how and where to place it. 
As mentioned earlier, in garden lighting there is such a special concept as functional lighting. This type of lighting uses such types of lighting devices as: mast lamps, sidewalk lamps and the like. Lighting of a summer cottage photo: 
Let's now look at what a functional mast light is. This type of device for artificial lighting of an area does not hurt the eyes and evenly scatters the light over the surrounding area. Located in the light zone of such lanterns, you can easily see the surrounding area. 
Watch the video: Lighting a summer cottage - how to organize
Lanterns or mast lamps will fit perfectly into the design of your garden when they illuminate alleys, lawns near a house or pond, or a fountain in a circle. Such a path will look very attractive from the outside when small lanterns illuminate it on both sides. They can be either 50 cm or 150 cm high. Lighting of a suburban area photo: 
Regarding sidewalk lighting, this type of lighting is used for orientation in the garden. Such lamps are placed in places where bright light is not required. Recently, it has become very common to install such sidewalk lamps directly into a stone slab, which is the road surface, although they can already be classified as recessed lamps. 
The switching on of such lamps, both sidewalk and mast, can be done either independently, that is, manually, or automatically, using a control panel or a computer program. In addition, such light in the garden can be turned on using a regular switch. To use automatic light switching, it is important to install touch sensors that will turn the lighting on and off in response to your appearance in the garden and movement. Lighting of a summer cottage - see photo: 
Decorative lighting in the garden
Devices for providing lighting can be very diverse, because with their help you can beat any design and create an excellent decor. Lighting technology perfectly decorates any garden. After all, it is known that in garden lighting there is such a thing as decorative lighting. Decorative lighting for each individual garden is a great opportunity to realize any fantasy. It is there that you can show your talent in the design art of decorative lighting for a summer cottage. Where else, if not at home, can it still be manifested? 
In this type of lighting, you can use a variety of types of lighting and forms of lighting devices, from the most ordinary spotlights to garlands with LEDs. After all, it is decorative landscape lighting of the site that will help create that unique beauty, mystery and mystery that almost all owners of country houses strive for. 
Decorative lighting of a country house site is most often used to highlight the most beautiful and unique places in the garden, these are usually waterfalls, sculptures, fountains, trees and other architectural and natural forms. With all this, experts do not advise using a large number of paints and colors, so as not to disturb the ideal harmony of nature and its natural environment. 
Designers and lighting specialists say that to create beautiful decorative lighting for a summer cottage, only two or three colors are enough, you just need to place them correctly. In this direction, special design studios offer their services, which usually first create a garden lighting project on a computer, and only then, taking into account all the wishes of the clients, bring it to life. 
Designing and selecting lighting for decorating any garden is a rather difficult and tedious task that requires a professional and responsible approach. But even if you don't have the skills or funds to use the services of professional designers, don't be discouraged. You can always experiment with lighting in your garden yourself. Even simple lighting of a stone-paved path along its entire length will create a pleasant atmosphere in your area after dark. Keep at it and everything will work out. See the lighting of the suburban area photo:
