“I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree…” (“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer)
There’s something wonderful about trees in your yard. They add depth and beauty to your space that can’t be created in any other way. If you have gorgeous trees–whether they are large and majestic or small and beautiful–you want to highlight them. In the daytime, you can do this by landscaping around them in a way that shows off their beauty. But at night? They disappear from view unless you light them. That is where outdoor lighting for trees comes in.
Lighting your trees means you get to enjoy them even after the sun goes down. It gives your yard ambiance and dimension, allowing you to highlight your favorite parts of your landscaping. It also makes your tree or trees into features and focal points in your yard. Lighting your trees enhances curb appeal and makes your home look and feel complete.
Practically, lighting trees in your yard adds a measure of safety to your property, deterring trespassers and enhancing your visibility. It makes your home feel safer and more secure. Especially if you have a large yard or your house is set back from the road, lighting trees near the perimeter of your lawn can make your home less vulnerable.
How to Light Your Trees
There are several things to consider when deciding how to light your trees. First, consider which trees you want to highlight. If you light every tree in your yard, it will look overdone. It’s better to light a few trees that are strategically located or exceptionally beautiful. Remember, less is often more when it comes to landscape lighting.
Next, think about your viewing angles. Do you want the trees to be viewed from the road, the house, the driveway, or a combination of these? If you only need one directional viewing, you can generally use just one light per tree (unless it’s a very large tree–more on that in a moment). But if you are lighting trees to be viewed from more than one angle, you’ll want to use multiple lights.
Uplighting
Uplighting trees is the most common, easiest, and most striking way to light them. It involves placing lights on the ground at angles that illuminate the tree from the ground up. Uplighting makes your tree a work of art by highlighting the texture of the trunk, the angles of the branches, and the color and movement of the foliage.
To uplight a tree, place the fixture at the base of the tree and shine it upward. You want the light to graze the trunk and focus on the branches. For a fir tree or other type of evergreen, move the light further away so the entire tree is illuminated from the side rather than from below.
Make sure the fixture is simple and inconspicuous so that the tree is the star of the show. To increase the ambiance, choose one with a soft, subtle light, not a harsh, bright light. You can experiment with the size, intensity, and position of the light until you get exactly the effect you want.
Downlighting
Downlighting is a more subtle way to light your trees. As the name implies, downlighting means installing a light in the tree and shining it down to the ground. It is sometimes called “moonlighting” since the light can imitate a brightly shining moon. The light is installed in a tall tree, up in the branches, so you can see shifting shadows of the leaves and branches on the ground.
Downlighting is great for illuminating outdoor living spaces like patios, decks, and benches. It can also be used near driveways, walkways, lawns, and any other space you may want to use at night.
To downlight a tree, install the light about four feet up from the lowest branches. Ideally, this is 20-25 feet from the ground. You want some branches and leaves in front of the light so it’s not harsh or blinding, but you don’t want so many that the light is blocked and the shadows overtake the area. Use a tree-mount junction box, and run the wire down the back of the tree so it isn’t visible.
The Nitty-Gritty
There are a number of things to consider when lighting your trees. Good landscape lighting is about contrast, a careful mix of light and shadow that is both an art and a science. Read on for some practical tips.
Number and Placement of Lights
To uplight a small tree, you probably only need one light. For larger trees, two or even three might be necessary. If you are lighting trees to be viewed from multiple angles, you may need one light per viewing angle.
Make sure that the beam of light illuminates both the trunk and the branches. Don’t aim it straight up–you want the trunk of the tree to glow a little bit to give you a good contrast with the leaves.
Color Temperature
Color temperature refers to the warmth or coolness of a light. Warm lighting is more yellow and usually not as bright as cool lighting, which leans toward blue. Warm lights highlight the browns and oranges in a tree, whereas cool lights make the greens really pop. For landscape lighting, look for lights with color temperatures closer to 2700 Kelvins for warm lights and 4200 for cool lights.
Beam Angle
Your beam angle refers to the spread of light your landscape light produces. The light is brighter near the source and gets dimmer as it spreads. Narrow trees look best with a narrow light–for example, a 10-25 degree angle. Wider trees could use a beam angle anywhere from 55 degrees to 120 degrees.
Lumens
Lumens refer to the brightness of the light. Generally, landscape lights look best when they have between 50 and 300 lumens. But the brightness you want really depends on
- the size and height of the tree
- how far the tree is from other landscape lights
- your personal preference: do you want a soft glow or a dramatic light?
Summary
Lighting your trees is a wonderful way to add drama, atmosphere, beauty, and safety to your yard. Consider which trees you want to light and whether you want to use uplighting or downlighting to accomplish your goals. Experiment with placement, brightness, angle, and color, and find the best lighting for your home. Lighting your trees allows you to enjoy the benefits of their beauty even after the sun goes down.
