Another depressing characteristic is the short day lengths. So by adding lights to your landscape you can increase interest and extend the day length. The perfect cure for the winter doldrums.

Lighting Options

There are several types of lighting systems you can utilize in your winter landscape. Low voltage lighting sets are available in an easy to install kit. These lights can be attached where desired and a transformer changes the voltage from 110 volts to 12 volts. Solar lights are becoming more popular due to no wires and can be moved easily. There is no electric bill other than the cost of rechargeable batteries. Regular Christmas lighting can be used with colored or the sparkling clear lamps. The variability in lamp sizes can provide highlight interest from larger coarse bulbs or small twinkle lights.
Flood lights are great for creating attention of a specimen tree or along a garden path. Year-round professional lighting is another option that may require less maintenance.

Effective Lighting

There are three main types of setting up your lights to create more interest and attraction. Uplighting or lights shining upward can be effective at the base of deciduous tree with colorful bark birch or Amur chokecherry, etc. Aim the lights on evergreens so it brushes the tips of the branches. Down lighting can be accomplished by hanging a light high in a tree to emulate moonlight filtering through the branches. Feature lighting does what it says, it spot lights or causes attention to particular tree, garden sculpture, etc. A nice accent is to use two flood lights from two different angles with one bulb brighter than the other.

Candle light

Candle light like the solar lighting is mobile and relatively inexpensive. The hazard of a fire starting with surrounding snow is much reduced if unattended. Any luminary or garden candle stands are available during the summer in stores. Garden candles lend a more mysterious mood with the flame movements and flickering. A good book on enhancing your winter landscape is “The Prairie Winterscape, Creative Gardening for the Forgotten Season” by Barbara Kam and Nora Bryan. The authors present a reciepe for making a candle luminary out of ice. The ice increases the accent of light and shadows. Much of the information I’ve used in this article can be found in detail in this book.

Always consider the views of the winter landscape from your favorite window as wells from the outside.

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