To extend the appeal and use of your garden, try adding a little light.

Mention lighting the garden and people might think of those hideous plastic patio lanterns that Kim Mitchell immortalized in his song by the same name, a dozen citronella candles chasing the dark as well as mosquitoes, or dramatic floodlights casting a pool of light on a favourite garden bed. Gardeners are always looking for something new to enhance their pleasure in their yards and plantings, and using lighting to great effect is one of those old ideas that is catching on again.

Something as simple as a string of low-energy, light-emitting diode outdoor Christmas lights, wrapped around an arbour or mounted along a deck rail, can have a lovely effect. For temporary lighting, which works more as a mood-enhancer than in casting significant light, you can use candles, torches, lanterns or specially designed planters that use canned Sunjel fuel, a smokeless gelled fuel that can be used indoors or out.

Homeowners who want to invest in more permanent installations have three levels of outdoor lighting options to choose from. The first is the selection of do-it-yourself landscape lighting fixtures and systems available at most hardware or home stores. These are inexpensive and easy to install, but are often made of plastic and are limited in their uses and reliability. Anyone who has ever seen a line of plastic lanterns planted in the ground along a walkway, looking like airport runway lights, will agree that these leave a lot to be desired and cast minimal light. And although they're easy to install and use renewable energy, solar lights tend to resemble dimly fluorescing mushrooms.

Line-voltage systems, including security lights on homes and garages, and many yard and outdoor light options, are wired directly into the electrical system of a home. These are more reliable and sturdy than the consumer-grade do-it-yourself options, but because they're wired into the 110-volt system, they're expensive to operate and need to be installed by a certified electrician.

The third option for outdoor lighting is a low-voltage system such as the one developed by California-based Nightscaping, an internationally known and respected company that has been in business for close to 50 years. Low-voltage lighting systems use a transformer to step your house current down to 12 volts, making the system safe to operate even around water and much less expensive in power consumption. You can also customize your lighting needs without being limited by a pre-assembled set of units that can only be placed so far apart.

Low-voltage does not mean "no-voltage." These systems provide more light at a lower cost-the expense of one 100-watt lamp running directly off your house's power can be redirected into as many as eight low-voltage fixtures with 12-watt bulbs. It's easier to achieve a more attractive effect in your yard with eight lamps than with one.

Low-voltage systems are also easily controlled, whether you want lighting on your property to shut off at 10 p.m., need to quickly turn on your lights because you've heard something in your yard, or simply want to be a good neighbour and environmental steward and not add to the light pollution emanating from so many communities.

Certified low-voltage technician Doug Conrad, who owns Creative Light and Landscape Ltd. in Dartmouth, NS, says there are three main types of low-voltage lighting design options available. "Traverse lighting concentrates on illuminating areas where people are walking-paths, walkways, steps, and so on," he says. "Lighting for effect does just that: it casts a pool of light onto areas you want to highlight, whether by uplighting, downlighting, or silhouetting." The third type connects the first two. "You may have a nicely lit path and in another part of your yard, a spotlight flooding down from a tree," he says. "You can choose some sort of lighting to go in between the two areas as a sort of connector for the theme."

When Doug, who is a Nightscape dealer, meets with a client, they walk the property together while he gets the homeowner's impressions and makes suggestions for positioning different types of lighting options. "If a yard has no trees, we have to look at path lighting rather than downlighting," he says.

Most homeowners want a place where they can sit and enjoy their garden in the evening. You will need to consider seasonal changes and not place lighting where it can be damaged by snow removal or buildup. You may want to start with a basic lighting system and then add to it as your garden grows and changes.

There are significant differences between choosing a professional landscaping contractor to install a lighting system and doing it yourself. One difference is the price: a basic lighting system installed by a professional will cost a minimum of $1,000 and can go up from there depending on your wants and needs. Lights purchased at a local hardware store are much less expensive: three solar lights are $50, for example, while two to four low-voltage lights with transformers are approximately $100. Three to four sets of each will be needed for any substantial lighting effect. Another difference is maintenance: with a professionally installed and sourced low-voltage system, homeowners will have minor maintenance, such as bulb replacement, to deal with on occasion, but the bronze and copper fixtures will last a lifetime. The plastic fixtures on DIY lights are generally warrantied for 90 days to one year.

Since as with any facet of landscaping, adding attractive and quality lighting to the mix adds further value to your property, anyone considering putting their home on the market may want to invest in a professional system.

Resources

To find a landscaper with lighting experience, contact your regional horticultural society.

• Nova Scotia: Landscape NS Horticultural Trades Association, Dartmouth, NS. Phone 902-463-0519; email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• New Brunswick and PEI: New Brunswick Horticultural Trades Association, Saint John, NB. Phone 1-866-752-6862, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 
• Newfoundland and Labrador: Landscape Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, NF. Phone 709-726-5651, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..