Path Lighting

Add Lighting and Security to Walkways, Decks and Accent Features

When we built home we thought we had covered every detail - from the mortgage rate to the lighting. What we forgot about was path lighting. After closing on our home and finished moving everything in , we set up for our first night. Looking outside all we could see was a long dark driveway and realized we did not take into account any outdoor garden lighting to illuminate the area. No paths or walkway lights, low voltage malibu lights - nothing.

Landscape Path Lighting for Added Security

My wife and I quickly noted it was very unsafe to have no landscape lighting leading up the path or walkway to our house. We decided to be creative and illuminate our walkway with outdoor solar garden lighting instead of low voltage lighting kits. The outdoor garden lights look dimmer and boast an almost golden glow.

We put a small pond equipped with a little giant pump and put some outdoor solar lights with a copper look to them around the pond. We then planted several liriope as a border, a few small shrubs along with some annuals for flowers throughout the area and put more garden/path type lights allowing the lights to softly illuminated the plants.

Solar Lighting - Not Enough Light

We quickly discovered that solar lights were not a good choice for us to actually light up our walkway in all regions. We decided to go the low voltage lighting route instead. As we totaled up our outdoor lighting needs our total hit 67 lights and with a number that high the monthly electric bill would be running high - even with low voltage landscape lights.

We compromised - we focused on lighting close to the walkway first. These needed to be brighter so we went low voltage lighting in this area. The solar lights were used further away from the house. The initial cost for the outdoor garden lighting was affordable. The price difference between solar and electric outdoor garden lights was surprisingly minimal.

We used a few electric lights at the back of the yard. This added security. The solar lights were a perfect accent to the yard. The solar outdoor garden lighting did come in handy if the electricity went out or if we forgot to turn on the electric garden lights. We were both satisfied that with a little time and hard work we were able to create our own original walkway with a few plants a few statues and some great outdoor garden lighting.

Related Articles

• Landscape Lighting - Add Security and Accents to Your Home and Landscape - Landscaping lights add a touch of color to your gardens. By using landscape lights in your yard, you not only add security to your home, as well as add beauty and style. You can add lights to any landscape design. Installing solar lights in your front or backyard is an easy chore that almost anyone
• Solar Landscape Lighting Tips | Led Landscape Lighting Kits - Solar lights continue to grow in use and are being included more in the overall design phase of a landscape. Here’s a few tips on solar landscape lights and LED landscape lighting kits when you’re out shopping for them. Look for these landscape lighting manufacturers: Kim Lighting, Hadco, Kichler, Westinghouse, Volt, Nightscaping, RAB, Highpoint and