Light plays a big role in the overall curb appeal of your home or business.  A well rounded landscape looks good, day or night in many kinds of weather.

Landscape lighting doesn't have to be expensive.  Modern solar technology makes putting lights anywhere inexpensive and easy.  

Landscape Lighting Basics:

• Well placed lights make a landscape more visually appealing and enhance safety
• Contrasting colors and shadow vs light add visual interest
• Using more, softer lights is better than fewer, harsher ones

A good thing to do early on in any landscaping project is to set a budget for the time and money the project will cost.  A good budget is even more important for landscape lighting projects.

A big source of expense in landscape lighting is running electrical power everywhere you want lights. Running extension cords all over the place is NOT an option since this is very unsafe.  A licensed electrician with experience in outdoor work and fixtures is needed.

An additional potential cost is the need to dig trenches to run wires.  In new construction this is no big deal.  However, in an established garden or landscape this can be a big problem, especially if it has paved areas.

One way to reduce the expense of electrical wiring is to use solar powered lights and fountains in your landscaping project. 

Read on for an example landscape lighting budget comparing traditional and solar lighting.