Done well, garden lighting turns your outdoor space into an evening retreat, useful, inviting, and a little bit magical. This guide walks you through how to plan a thoughtful scheme, choose the right fittings and power, stay safe and compliant in the UK, and keep everything looking sharp through the seasons. And if you’d rather have a professional design and install it, you can find a vetted local expert in the Landscapers Directory to bring your ideas to life.
Plan Your Scheme Around How You Use the Garden
Before you get lost in lumens and fittings, map your garden by use. Lighting is only successful when it serves how you actually live outdoors.
Start with zones and routes
- Arrival and access: paths, steps, driveways, anything you navigate in the dark.
- Social areas: dining terraces, seating nooks, fire pits.
- Feature zones: trees, water, sculptures, architectural details.
- Practical corners: sheds, bins, BBQs, the functional bits that still need light.
Sketch your layout and trace the evening journeys you make: back door to shed, patio to lawn, gate to steps. Mark potential hazards (level changes, pond edges) and focal points you’d like to highlight.
Set an ambience brief
Ask yourself:
- Do you want subtle, resort-like calm, or a brighter, family-friendly space?
- Are there neighbours or bedrooms nearby where glare or spill would annoy?
- What’s your curfew? Many people set lights to fade after 11pm to reduce energy and light pollution.
A quick rule: light faces, pathways and features: never the sky or your neighbour’s windows. Keep the “dark sky” principle in mind, less is often more.
Practical considerations to lock in early
- Power access and cable routes: can you run low-voltage lines discreetly in borders? Do you need SWA (steel wire armoured) cable for mains runs?
- Controls: single switch, zoned circuits, or fully smart?
- Maintenance: can you reach fittings to clean lenses and trim planting around them?
If designing feels like a lot, a lighting-savvy landscaper can help you avoid missteps. Browse the Landscapers Directory to find local pros who can plan, supply and install a cohesive scheme.
Lighting Types, Effects and Key Zones
Think in effects first, then pick fittings to suit. A tight palette of techniques keeps things elegant and ties the whole garden together.
Core lighting effects
- Path wash: Low, soft pools along a route using bollards, short posts, or recessed steplights. Aim for 10–30 lux in most paths.
- Grazing: Lights placed close to a wall or texture to pull out character (brick, stone, timber cladding).
- Uplighting: Spike or in-ground spots aimed up into trees, topiary, or architectural features. Control glare with shields and aim to avoid bare-bulb views.
- Downlighting (moonlighting): Fittings mounted in trees or on structures aimed down through foliage, creating dappled shadows that feel natural.
- Accent/spot: Narrow-beam spots for sculptures, water features, specimen plants.
- Backlighting/silhouette: Light behind an object to outline its shape, great for grasses or perforated screens.
Choosing fittings (what and where)
- Bollards and marker lights: Guide feet along paths and driveways. Choose shielded designs to prevent sideways glare.
- Spike spots: Flexible for borders and trees: easy to reposition as planting grows.
- In-ground uplights: Clean look in paving or lawns. Ensure good drainage and robust IP ratings.
- Wall lights: Use as subtle grazers or for task light near doors and outdoor kitchens.
- Step and recessed lights: For safer stairs and level changes, keep beam shallow to avoid glare.
- Under-cap lights: Tuck under seat edges, steps, or coping stones for hidden glow.
Colour temperature, brightness and beam angles
- Colour temperature: 2700K–3000K warm white feels welcoming and flatters planting: 4000K cool white can suit contemporary stone or water features but use sparingly. Mix carefully so it doesn’t look disjointed.
- Lumens: For orientation and ambience, think 100–300 lm per fitting: for feature accents, 200–600 lm depending on distance and beam angle. Less light with precise aiming usually beats blasting everything.
- Beam angles: 10–25° for tall, narrow accents (trunks, columns): 36–60° for broader shrubs: 60–120° for washes and façades.
Key zones to prioritise
- Entrances and doors: Safe footing and keyholes visible without harsh glare. A wall light plus a discreet downlight often beats one big lantern.
- Paths and steps: Staggered markers on alternate sides create rhythm and reduce runway vibes.
- Dining and seating: Layer task and ambient, soft overhead festoons or downlights for atmosphere, and a focused lamp near the table or BBQ for practicality.
- Trees and planting: One well-placed uplight in a specimen tree can carry the whole garden. Light from the side you view most.
- Water features and ponds: Use low-glare, low-level light: avoid pointing fittings directly at your viewpoint to prevent dazzling reflections. Choose submersibles rated appropriately.
Avoid common mistakes
- Over-lighting: If you can read a book everywhere, it’s probably too bright.
- Glare: Always walk the garden and look back toward fixtures: add shields or adjust angles.
- Uniformity: Leave pockets of darkness so lit features have contrast.
For a polished, consistent look, many homeowners partner with a pro who understands beam control and planting dynamics. You can shortlist specialists with lighting portfolios in the Landscapers Directory.
Power Sources, Efficiency and Smart Controls
Your power choice affects installation complexity, running cost and flexibility.
Power options
- Low-voltage (12V) systems: Safe, flexible, ideal for most domestic gardens. A transformer reduces 230V to 12V: cables can be slimmer and easier to route. Great for spike spots, bollards, and small wall lights.
- Mains voltage (230V): Useful for higher-output fittings or long cable runs. Requires proper burial depths, SWA cable, and certified connections.
- Solar: Brilliant for quick, no-dig highlights or renter-friendly setups. Modern solar with quality panels and Li-ion batteries has improved, but expect variable performance in winter and under shade.
Many schemes combine 12V core lighting with a few mains-fed circuits for structures or outbuildings.
Efficiency and lamping
- LED is the default: Look for high efficacy (90+ lm/W) and CRI 90+ to render foliage and materials well.
- Replaceable vs integrated: Integrated LEDs are slim and efficient: replaceable lamps offer easy maintenance. Balance aesthetics with serviceability.
- Durability: Outdoor IP ratings of IP65+ for exposed fittings: IP67–68 for in-ground and submersibles. Choose marine-grade stainless or powder-coated aluminium near the coast.
Smart controls and automation
- Timers and photocells: Set-and-forget convenience, on at dusk, off at a set time.
- PIR/motion sensors: Useful for paths, side returns and security, but avoid constant triggering near wildlife corridors.
- Smart platforms: Wi‑Fi, Zigbee or Z‑Wave controllers let you zone lights, dim, and schedule scenes from your phone. Geofencing can switch on arrival lighting automatically.
- Dimming: 0–10V or DALI is overkill for most homes: phase-dimmable or smart-dimmable LED drivers are usually sufficient. Test compatibility to prevent flicker.
Design tip: Put feature lighting on separate circuits from task lighting so you can turn the drama up or down without losing safety illumination.
If you’d like a turnkey setup, with discreet transformers, neat junctions, and rock-solid connectivity, find a local installer through the Landscapers Directory.
Installation, Safety and UK Compliance
Outdoor electrics are not the place to wing it. In the UK, you must comply with BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations) and Building Regulations Part P for electrical safety.
Key safety essentials
- RCD protection: All outdoor circuits should be RCD-protected to cut power swiftly in a fault.
- Correct cable: Use SWA for mains underground runs: bury at appropriate depth (typically 450–600mm in gardens) with warning tape. Low-voltage cables can be shallower but still protect from spades.
- IP ratings and glands: Maintain ingress protection at every connection. Use gel-filled or resin-sealed junctions for underground joins.
- Earthing and bonding: Metal fittings may require earth connections: follow manufacturer guidance.
- Separation from water: Keep mains connections well away from ponds: use purpose-built submersible fittings in water features.
Planning and neighbours
- Light spill: Aim fittings away from boundaries and windows. Consider shields and lower outputs to reduce nuisance and protect bats and nocturnal wildlife.
- Security lights: Avoid over-bright floodlights (commonly the worst offenders). A 10–20W LED with a wide, soft beam is usually enough.
DIY vs professional
- You can plan and lay conduits/cable routes yourself, but mains connections and new circuits should be carried out by a competent electrician. Certification may be required for your records and future home sale.
Want everything done once and done right? Use the Landscapers Directory to find landscapers who collaborate with qualified electricians, ensuring a tidy, compliant install.
Maintenance, Seasonal Updates and Budget-Friendly Styling
Lighting isn’t set-and-forget. A little upkeep keeps your outdoor ambience crisp and your fittings efficient.
Easy maintenance wins
- Clean lenses and shrouds twice a year to remove algae, cobwebs and limescale.
- Re-aim after pruning or growth spurts, what looked perfect in spring may glare in summer.
- Check fixings and seals: replace perished gaskets to maintain IP ratings.
- Test sensors, timers and smart routines as the seasons shift.
Seasonal tweaks
- Winter: Increase path levels slightly and emphasise evergreens, bark texture, and structural elements (trellis, fencing).
- Spring: Highlight blossom and bulbs with softer, wider beams.
- Summer: Dim feature lights and lean on candlelight or festoons around seating for laid-back evenings.
- Autumn: Warm up the palette (2700K) and pick out grasses and seed heads for drama.
Budget-friendly styling ideas
- Festoons and portable lamps: IP44+ rechargeable lanterns create instant mood on a terrace.
- Layered solar markers: Use better-quality, replaceable-battery models along secondary paths.
- Under-bench strips: Low-cost, low-voltage LED tape tucked under seat edges or planters offers a boutique look.
- One hero tree: If budget is tight, light a single specimen tree and keep the rest minimal, huge impact per pound spent.
When to call in help
If your scheme’s grown organically, one fitting here, another there, it might be time for a reset. A pro can simplify cabling, standardise colour temps, and create scenes that work year-round. Search the Landscapers Directory to find trusted specialists who can refresh or expand your lighting without starting from scratch.