Lighting

As gorgeous and inviting as a garden is during the day, it becomes a magical place at night if it's properly lighted. Garden lighting can illuminate a patio for entertaining, showcase a dramatic planting or guide the way along a path. But installing landscape lighting can be time-consuming and costly. The lights themselves can be pricy, and a licensed electrician needs to do the installation on all but the simplest do-it-yourself kits.

Solar-powered lights just might be the answer. They're reasonably priced, simple to install and safe to use. They can be moved easily as your landscape changes, and give a bright, reliable light for most any application. Solar lights of yesteryear used to glow with only a dim incandescent bulb. Today, modern units use light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are semiconductors that put out light without hot, glowing filaments or fragile glass shells.

They can reliably run upward of 100,000 hours. Solar landscape lighting can perform year-round, even in the cold, short days of winter. In fact, as temperatures drop, solid-state LEDs generate an even brighter light. Today's solar cells and rechargeable batteries are also more efficient, and the prices of both are coming down. Rechargeable solar batteries now use nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) rather than nickel-cadmium (NiCAD). NiMH batteries stand up to more charge cycles, last longer and can finally be disposed of without harming the environment.

There are three basic landscape uses for solar lights: pathway, accent and spotlighting. Pathway lighting illuminates driveways, walkways and steps, and marks the edges of areas like ponds and patios for safety. Modern solar landscape lights are a far cry from the dim, short-lived little flashlights of yesterday. Their attractive styling, long run-time and wiring-free, out-of-the-box installation make them perfect for most any garden application. And with practical and beautiful landscape lighting, you can stay outside and play in the garden a whole lot longer.  Call Fieldstone Landscape and Design for you lighting needs.