{"id":1179,"date":"2018-11-19T15:17:07","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T15:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/?p=1179"},"modified":"2018-11-19T15:17:07","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T15:17:07","slug":"lighting-trees-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/lighting-trees-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"LIGHTING YOUR TREES"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tIn 1913 the poet Joyce Kilmer wrote: <\/a>\u201c I think that I shall never see, A poem as lovely as a tree\u201d. Trees are indeed magnificent works of nature. They \u2019re the most impressive natural features on most of the properties in our area. Lighting trees with 21st-century technology<\/a> extends our delight in them past sundown and through the night. Selected and arranged by an experienced designer, the nocturnal spectacle can be a stunning enhancement of nature\u2019s gift.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more to it than just trying to replace what the setting sun takes away. A bright floodlight can certainly show the world there\u2019s a tree on that spot. However, a more thoughtful installation subtly accents a tree\u2019s textures, shapes, and colors. It can throw intriguing shadows onto nearby surfaces. Lighting trees calls for consideration of tree size, vantage points, and the overall landscape lighting design. A good design is a balanced design.<\/p>\n

TREE SIZE<\/h3>\n

One light can suffice for small decorative trees. Well lights, flush with the ground near the base of the trunk, are often enough. In contrast, medium-size trees usually call for two fixtures in two positions. Ground installations work for all but the largest trees. That said, \u00a0medium and larger trees offer opportunities to create stunning effects with artful positioning in the branches. Downlights throw shadows onto the ground, nearby structures, or water features. The shadow art becomes kinetic in a breeze.<\/p>\n

TREE SHAPES<\/h3>\n

A columnar cherry and a spreading beech are very different canvases to paint with light. The human eye is more effective scanning horizontally<\/a> than vertically. Hence, landscape lighting design should consider whether to emphasize or to soften the standout dimension of a tree.<\/p>\n

VANTAGE POINTS<\/h3>\n

Finally, when lighting trees a designer should consider where a tree will be viewed from. Of course, this depends a lot on the tree\u2019s setting.\u00a0 A wide-open setting in a yard has vantage points all around, calling for 360-degree effect. In contrast, \u00a0trees lining paths or driveways can be lit as path lights, emphasizing the way. Vantage points are limited for trees set near structures, but the structures offer opportunities for mounting fixtures to silhouette these trees.<\/p>\n

LIGHTING TREES AS ART<\/h3>\n

As always, the bedrock maxim of landscape lighting is \u201dless is more\u201d. The total effect should be to show how expansive your home and yard really are. When Joyce Kilmer wrote \u201cTrees\u201d in 1913, the richest person in the world couldn\u2019t enjoy his trees at night the way you can see yours today. I wish I could bring Kilmer into the present. I\u2019d invite him to my yard at sunset, show him my birches, and as night fell say to him \u201cSir, let me make you say WOW!\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston\u00a0Lightscapes<\/a> is here for all your outdoor lighting needs in Houston TX. and surrounding\u00a0areas.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1913 the poet Joyce Kilmer wrote: \u201c I think that I shall never see, A poem as lovely as a tree\u201d. Trees are indeed magnificent works of nature. They \u2019re the most impressive natural features on most of the properties in our area. Lighting trees with 21st-century technology extends our delight in them past…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,10,1],"tags":[4,6,21],"class_list":["post-1179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-landscapes-lighting","category-outdoor-lighting","category-residential-lighting","category-uncategorized","tag-landscape-lighting","tag-lighting-landscape","tag-outdoor-lighting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonlightscapes.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}