What option would look best on the my hedge (last photo) wash lights or uplights? How would you space either option?
Hi, Rachel. If you’ve read any of my previous responses, you probably remember that I routinely say there’s no one ideal way to create a lighting plan. IOW, your opinion as to what looks more appealing or compelling is as good as mine or anyone else’s. Having said that, if you don’t have a specific goal in mind and you have the luxury to just enjoy making art…if I were you, I would have fun with that long blank green wall you have to paint on with light. Let your imagination run wild. Let’s say you choose to use spotlights or well lights to create pools of light on the hedge (as opposed to flooding the hedge with light in a way that fully illuminates the hedge). Consider all the different ways you could configure your lights to fill up the length of your hedge. You could arrange your spotlights in a row evenly spaced with the same size beam spread in every spotlight. Or you could alternate between larger and smaller beam spread spotlights.You could arrange your lights so that there’s five feet of darker areas between each beam spread. Or you could go the other way and position your lights and beam spreads close enough that their beam spreads overlap (which would give you a pattern of alternating projections of brightness along the length of the hedge). Also, if you have a goal like illuminating that driveway, you could easily accomplish that by lighting your hedges a little brighter than I usually recommend and then allowing the reflected or bounced light from the foliage to brighten that area. If you want to show more detail in the foliage or you want projections from your beam spreads to be sharper, opt for clear lens in your fixtures. If you want to dial back the amount of detail or you want the edges of your beam spread projections to be more muted, go for frosted lenses (which will give your lighting a softer look overall). HTH and I haven’t overwhelmed you with options.
Thank you! I've decided I don't want it to be flooded with light all across as it would be overboard and its a long hedge so it would be too much light at night and kill ambiance. That being said I am still confused on what beam spread to get and how many feet apart they would be placed. it's hard without getting to physically test it out. the lights need to be placed fairly close to the hedge.
Glad to help, Rachel. It may seem overwhelming at first but I encourage you to explore the site (the link below should get you started) and look at product and gallery photos. These will give you a clearer sense of what you can accomplish with the various light fixture types and product designs. Depending on your budget and the fixture types you consider suitable for that area, you can pretty much accomplish whatever look you want. If you want to fully illuminate the hedge in a very subtle way, that’s totally achievable. There are spotlights, hardscape lights, and well lights with very low lumens lamps. Alternatively, with the remote controlled RGB and RGBCW bulbs and fixtures you have the option of adjusting your light output from very low lumens to very bright. When viewing products and photos, there’s a couple of things to keep in mind. First, the light output you will see IRL will likely be significantly less pronounced than what you see in photos. What appears to be overly lit will likely appear to be less so on your property. Also, when you look at products, pay more attention to lumens level than wattages. That is a more meaningful way to quantify brightness levels. Finally, if you want to get a sense of what you can accomplish with different lighting fixtures, you might want to play around with spotlight and one of the adjustable beam spread bulbs. This is a good way to help you figure out what kinds/numbers of fixtures will give you the effect you’re looking for. HTH. https://www.voltlighting.com/learn/selecting-beam-spreads
