Outdoor lighting can make your home’s exterior safer and more functional. Well-designed Texas landscape lighting makes your home’s exterior beautiful, too!
Instead of brightening the whole yard with lights, consider creating pools of light with fixtures. Layer lighting to enhance mature trees, illuminate the way from the driveway to the front door and make your patio more usable after dinner.
Before choosing outdoor lighting for your yard, consider how you use the outdoor spaces at night, and plan lighting accordingly. Choose fixtures that enhance your nighttime activities, but won’t blind you, cast light into neighbors’ properties or shine into your windows.
Path Lighting
Instead of lining walkways with path lights on both sides, which can look rigid and become daytime clutter, stagger the path lights on one side of walkways, and light up gates, changes in direction and elevation changes. Focus on:
- Paths from the street/driveway to your front door
- Transitions from your house to a patio or lawn
- Steps, changes in walkway materials and retaining wall edges
- Side yard paths that you use to get to equipment, waste containers, etc.
- Pool paths and gateways
Choose downward facing lights to reduce glare and warm lights, which flatter natural materials and mulched or planted beds better than blue-white lights.
Stair Lighting
The goal when lighting stairs is to illuminate the tread (not shine lights in people’s faces).
Path Light Spacing
A good rule of thumb is to place smaller path lights 6 to 10 feet apart from each other. However, avoid obsessing over uniformity. Adjust fixture spacing to accommodate Texas landscape lighting ideas like changes in direction, obstructions and plantings.
Once your Texas landscape lighting is installed, walk around at night to check for dark spots, glare and distracting shadows.
Tree Lighting
Trees create visual interest, height and texture against the backdrop of darkness. Accent them with wide-beam uplighting that washes light across the canopy and highlights the shapes of trunks and branches. (You’re trying to cast light into the canopy, not illuminate every leaf!)
Tree Light Placement
Position tree lights farther from the trunk (outside the root flare). Not only does this avoid problems as the tree grows, it makes mulching easier and decreases the likelihood of Texas landscape lighting ideas getting buried or damaged.
Direct the lights at an angle so that they travel up the trunk (not towards your windows!).
Future Tree Growth
Before purchasing tree uplights, consider how their beams may affect your mature trees’ growth next season, an issue examined at www.science.org/content/article/city-lights-could-leave-trees-vulnerable.
Number of Uplights
One uplight can be all that’s needed for small ornamental trees, while large trees with multiple trunks or expansive canopies may benefit from additional lights. Rather than installing the same number of tree lights under every tree, vary it to avoid a one-dimensional effect.
Installation and Maintenance
To avoid Texas landscape lighting ideas getting knocked over or buried by mulch, plan Texas landscape lighting ideas around trimming, mulching and mowing. The team at Moore Irrigation Services coordinates local lighting plans with sprinkler coverage and planting beds. Avoid placing lights in sprinkler spray patterns to decrease the likelihood of damaged fixtures. Bury low voltage wires deeply enough and use conduit to protect wiring, if needed, around active planting beds and when passing under hardscape edges.
Before breaking ground, mark the location of sprinkler lines and valves to avoid unwanted surprises. (Trust us, it’s inconvenient enough to have to repair a sprinkler line damaged during a lighting upgrade!)
For a long-lasting landscape lighting setup, Moore Irrigation Services can help homeowners plan fixture placement around irrigation systems, pathways, and garden features. Careful coordination helps protect wiring and fixtures while keeping outdoor spaces attractive, functional, and well-lit throughout the year.
Patio Lighting
Layered patio lighting creates an outdoor room that’s perfect for entertaining, dining and relaxing without feeling exposed. While it may be practical to hang task lighting over the grill or outdoor kitchen, incorporate other dimmable and shielded Texas landscape lighting ideas (downlights, wall lights or other accent lighting) throughout the space to soften the effect.
Three Patio Layers
- Task lighting over doors, for grilling or food prep
- Ambient lighting to illuminate the space and allow for easy movement around the patio
- Accent lighting to highlight texture on walls, illuminate planters, cast light on nearby trees or illuminate water features
Wherever possible, avoid placing fixtures at eye level when seated. A lower-level, dimmer source of light placed farther away from the patio will be less obtrusive than a bright light at eye level.
Consider dividing the space into zones and adding dimmers so you can create just the right mood, whether you’re eating a family dinner, hosting late into the night or just relaxing outside.
Patio Light Controls
The easiest system is the system that will actually get used! If your household comes and goes regularly, photocells or timers may be convenient for day to day control. Or, consider a simple app to control zones and scheduling.
Nighttime Testing
Once your system is installed, test your Texas landscape lighting ideas after dark (not just at twilight!). Nearby trees, windows, patios, furniture or other reflective surfaces may influence how the lights perform.
Still need inspiration? Grab a flashlight and take a nighttime walk around your property! Take note of areas that feel dim or dark, spots that are difficult to see, or places where you trip over or stumble. Map out areas for Texas landscape lighting ideas based on your list and mark sprinkler lines before breaking ground!