This is a question we hear time & time again and a vital part of many garden schemes that is over looked.

Failure to include enough lighting in your garden scheme will leave the space deflated, dull and unusable. The wrong placement will divert the eye to the wrong areas and not showcase the investment of time and money you have spent to make your garden the best it can be.

So, why is outdoor lighting so important?

• Safety - There's no doubt that outdoor lighting provides increased safety after dark. Not only making is easier to move around your outdoor space (no more tripping over a disguised step!), it also will deter any crime. A ceiling pendant in your porch is a perfect example f how you can achieve this.
• Aesthetics - Outdoor lighting highlights and adds drama to any architectural and landscape features as well as creating a comfortable, usable space for entertaining. A projector light could be used to light up parts of the house that you want you may want to draw attention to, such as a stained glass window, detailed stone work or a tree!
• Zones - Helps to create zones or 'rooms' within your outdoor space, thus maximising the usable space. For example, use in-ground spotlights to light up a pathway that leads to an area that might have been left unexplored, or a floor lamp to enclose an outdoor lounging area.

Then begs the question 'How do I choose the right outdoor lighting?'

There are many categories of outdoor lighting that can be used in a variety of different ways. There are also many different styles available within those categories and so the options are endless.

A good exercise to help navigate your way through the outdoor lighting universe is to compartmentalise your needs, such as:

• Where is it going to go? This will help narrow down what IP rating you will need. For example, if it is to go under a protected porch you won't require as high of an IP rating as a spotlight to go around the poolside.
• What do you want to achieve? Subtle mood lighting? Spotlights are the way to go. Something fun & wild? Go for one of our many colourful wall lamps - we can even get some made in neon green!
• In-ground or wireless? It is important that this is established at the beginning of the scheme so you can ensure the right prep work has been carried out if you are going to be wiring your outdoor lighting into the mains. If this is something you had not thought about, don't worry as we have plenty of wireless lamps too choose from which can be move indoors in the winter for year round use!