During the day water features and garden ponds add a new dimension and tranquillity to gardens, but once the sun sets most are hidden until the sun rises again.
This need not be the case and by adding lighting to your water feature and pond you can bring out new qualities to them according to the amount, colours and positions of your lighting. These new contrasts will vary as the garden is transformed by dusk turning into night, creating an entirely different atmosphere.
There is a wide range of low voltage underwater and garden lighting available that is both safe and easy to install.
The key to placing water feature and landscape lighting is restraint. Lighting up the entire area is far less affective than using the light sparingly and highlighting certain parts of the water feature and surrounding plants. You want to try and let the light throw shadows over rocks, plants and running water, rather than directly onto the focal point or water surface. The water surface will become a dark mirror, reflecting the water feature and plants when the light is shone indirectly.
Under water lighting can produce some dramatic effects. By placing a light directly under a fountain nozzle you will add a whole new dimension. Try to place the light so that it shines upwards into the spray if possible attaching the light to the nozzle. Placing a light behind a waterfall or water curtain is also very dramatic.
In ponds and features with fish, underwater lighting is not recommended as it confuses the fish as they will try to swim with the light to there backs.
The addition of a ‘mist maker’ to your water feature can also be very effective when combined with lighting, creating a sense of theatre as the mist rolls over the surface and edges of your feature & drifts across the light beams.
In many ways a water feature can be even more effective at night and by adding lighting you will enjoy it long after the sun has set.
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