Currently testing all my fixtures. Decided to wash our brick walls and move some shrubs away from the foundation before installing our lighting (ok, I'm a wee bit of a perfectionist sometimes). Meanwhile, I'm second guessing my initial idea for fixture placement and beam spread choice for lighting the 30' H oak with a 25' diameter which sits in the dead center of my front yard. I'd originally planned to flank the base of the tree with two 38° All Stars (one in front and one in back) and a pair of 60° Salty Dog well lights in the locations shown on the diagrammed photo. Problem is, because there's no sidewalk, the fixtures would have to tolerate a fair amount of foot traffic. Even though these are solid brass and I'm sure quite durable, I'd really prefer not to put them to the test. Which brings me to my challenge: Is there a preferred/ideal way to light a tree of this size while keeping all of the fixtures more or less within the drip line of the tree? In my diagram of the tree canopy (where the stars = All Stars and the letters indicate different outer light placement options), would any/all of these layouts work? Will the 60° beam spread sufficiently illuminate the canopy or should I go with 110° bulbs? I've purchased enough fixtures to proceed with any of these approaches.
In my opinion, if the mulch circle is at least 5' from the trunk, installing a couple of Infiniti G4s with the standard optic n the mulch pointing up almost vertically would light the tree from the inside a lot better than putting the lights out by the sidewalk. Make sure they have the optional shrouds, also.
I see your concern with placing the Salty Dogs at those further spots; looks like they may be an issue with yardwork (edging) mainly. I would agree with Lumiscape about keeping all the lights within the mulched area directly under the tree. Because it looks like such a focal point of your front yard and its a beautiful looking tree, I would say to consider putting 3 or 4 spotlights under it (made some edits to the diagram to illustrate). Using 2-3 All-Stars, I'd say consider using the wider beam spread (110). Using 4 or more, 60-degree spreads for the ones on the trunk and maybe 110 for ones designated more for the canopy. You definitely have some options for that beautiful tree. Like Lumiscape said as well, raising the shrouds will be important to conceal the light sources and can help focus the light as well. Beautiful house!
Thanks, Evan. As always, I appreciate your insights. My initial thinking was that I'd address potential glare issues by relying mostly on in ground fixtures (in addition to the Salty wells, I have a couple of grated Salty in grades) but I also purchased enough spots that I can do any number of different fixture combinations. I'll probably order a few 110° bulbs also. Btw, I misspoke earlier. All my spotlights are Top Dogs. Also for anyone who might be interested, I'm really glad I waited to do my install because I think after the house facade gets a good bath, the bricks, columns and portico will look a lot nicer illuminated. Thanks again!
Thanks for your feedback, Lumiscape. Your positioning approach makes lots of sense. Because the sky is fairly dark in my neighborhood, I've been reluctant to go too bright with my fixtures. In fact, all of my lights are 2W (in the 150-200 lumens or 15W halogen equiv). I've had this recurring over the top fantasy in which people driving by the house will react to my lighting the way people slow down and stop for holiday light displays. LOL My point is, I want to create a subtle glow throughout my lighting plan.
