Low Voltage Landscape Lighting
If you are a landscape, you know that lighting is one of the most important aspects of the job. Lighting helps to create a particular mood or atmosphere for a room or exterior area, and so you need to be very careful in regards to where you put lighting and what sort of lighting and fixtures you are using.
There are times when you are going to want to use high voltage lighting and other times when low voltage landscape lighting would be more appropriate. It is important to determine which is going to work best in which situation in order to ensure that the client is going to get the best results, each and every time.
Good Ideas
Low voltage landscape lighting works well in a number of different situations. When you want to set a romantic mood, for instance in the bedroom or outside on the back deck, low voltage landscape lighting is great because it helps to offer minimal lighting and set the mood. Another reason is that these are areas where you do not necessarily need a ton of light, so you can save the client on electricity bills.
Low voltage landscape lighting is great as outdoor landscape lighting in those areas where you do not require a lot of light. For the front door on the other hand, this is the sort of area where you would want high voltage lighting so that if someone came to the door in the middle of the night you can turn on the light and be able to see them clearly.
Kitchens, dining rooms and these sorts of areas are usually best with high voltage lighting as well because you want to be able to see what you are doing so low voltage landscape lighting should be avoided.
Just make sure, whenever you take on a new job, that you look things over and make the best decision in terms of what is going to work the best in what situation. This can take some time, but the most important thing is that you are going to make the clients happy and leave them satisfied with the results.
Once you have gotten the lighting out of the way, then you can start on the design of the rest of the area. There are always going to be lots of different things that you will need to figure out.
Choosing the Right Landscape Garden Edging
There are many different choices to be made when landscaping a yard, whether it is a residence or a commercial workplace. There are choices in the design of the yard, so that there are nice focal points and sitting areas to enjoy the various features of the landscape. In addition, there are choices in the types of plants, bushes and trees that will go in the various places of the yard so that the landscape looks beautiful all seasons of the year. Another choice is whether to put in a deck or a pond so that there are more options in the yard, in addition to making choices in the type of landscape garden edging that is to be used in different places.
There are many types of landscape garden edging available on the market today that fit individual preferences in style and cost. There are some landscape garden edging pieces that are purely practical, such as metal and wire edging. Metal edging does not even show above the ground. It is dug into a trench along the edge of a lawn and driveway, or other area that needs the divider for the root system, so that it blocks the roots from growing under and through the hard spots in the yard. This prevents the individuals from having to edge as often with an electric or gas edger, saving time and cost. The wire edging is usually used as a preventative measure to deter animals from straying into a particular section of the yard without blocking off the section altogether.
There are also decorative landscape garden edging choices on the market, such as brick, concrete, plastic and railroad ties. Plastic landscape garden edging is probably the most popular choice since it serves both decorative purposes as well as utility. The plastic landscape garden edging can be found in any garden supply center and comes in pieces that interlock with each other. This allows them to be easily installed and also replaced if there is any damage done to them. In addition, they are easy to place around the planters and gardens since all that is required is a hammer to gently hammer them into the ground. This is made even easier because the plastic landscape garden edging has a sharp base to it so that it can slide into the sod easily. There are many different designs in plastic edging so that it can mimic other materials, such as brick, wood, stone, and it comes in different colors as well to help match the other design features in the yard.
Brick Landscape Edging
There are many different choices in landscape garden edging, which is beneficial to individuals so that they can find just the right type to fit their practical needs and their aesthetic tastes. There is some landscape edging that will help individuals to reduce the trimming that they will have to do around their lawns since it helps to block the root systems. There is other edging that is purely decorative and adds artistic flair to the planter or garden. In addition, there is other landscape edging that serves as a reminder to dogs and other creatures to stay out of a certain part of the yard without putting up a fence around it which would block the artistic appeal of the landscape.
Brick landscape edging can add style to any yard, whether it is residential or commercial. The brick landscape edging can be found in a variety of different colors and sizes to meet the needs of the particular area. In addition, since the bricks are small overall, it is easy to fit them to a curved or a straight section of the planter or garden so that it follows the pattern of the yard. Brick landscape edging also allows individuals to build them up slightly into a mini-wall to help to deter pests from entering that section of the yard. Building up the bricks into a little wall is also helpful in preventing weeds and grass from growing up between the bricks, which later need to be pulled or trimmed.
Besides brick landscape edging, there is also material that can be used that has the look of bricks but does not have the price tag attached to it. Plastic edging material can be made to look like many other materials such as brick, wood, and stone. The benefit to plastic edging over brick landscape edging is that it also helps to prevent the root systems from traveling beneath the ground. The reason for this is that the plastic edging has one piece that is decorative and remains above ground, and it also has a base to it that is sharp so that it can slide into the ground easily when it is hammered. The plastic edging is also better than the brick landscape edging because it comes in interlocking pieces so that there is less of a problem with weeds growing up between the sections. In addition, it stays in place better than the bricks which sometimes have to be re-set in the planter since they have moved over the course of time, or from the lawnmower coming too close to the planter.
Metal Landscape Edging
Metal Landscape Edging
Metal landscape edging is not used as decorative edging like some plastic, concrete and brick landscape edging. Instead, its use is practical, as it helps to divide the solid parts of the yard from the soft elements in the yard so that there is not an overlap between them. For instance, metal landscape edging might be used between a driveway and a lawn so that the root system of the lawn does not grow under the driveway and cause it to crack at a later date due to the grass growing over it and through it. Metal landscape edging is also fairly easy to install so that it does not usually require a professional to do so like concrete edging does.
There are two types of metal landscape edging with different thicknesses available in each type. Steel edging has been around the longest and is very durable, although subject to rust if galvanized steel is not used. Thus, it is not always the best choice for use in climates that receive a lot of rain or that are near the coastline. Aluminum edging is better for use in these wetter climates since it does not rust and is also very durable and easy to work with. Both of these types of metal landscape edging come in different colors such as black, brown or a silver color to match different landscape designs.
In order to install metal landscape edging, individuals must first buy the edging, which is sold in ten foot lengths so that they have enough for the area that they want to edge. They will also need a hacksaw so that if they need to cut the metal landscape edging during implementation they are able to do so. Once they have the materials, they will need to use a shovel to dig a small trench that is five inches deep around the area to be edged in order to accommodate the four inch edging. Once the trench is dug, the metal landscape edging can be placed into the trench so that the top, rounded edge is facing up. The edging should be connected together ahead of time to make it easier to fit it to the curves of the landscape design.
Once the metal landscape edging is in place, then the metal stakes are used to hold it in place at about two foot increments. There are pockets in the edging to accommodate the stakes and hold the edging securely for years to come. Once that is done, the edging is covered up with the dirt that had been dug out, tamped down, and the topsoil is placed over the top to finish the work.
Plastic Landscape Edging
Plastic landscape edging is probably the least expensive and the most versatile edging on the market today out of all the different materials available, such as wire, concrete and metal landscape edging. Plastic landscape edging usually does not require that a professional install the material since it only takes planning where the edging is desired and a hammer to install it. It also provides interlocking pieces so that if one section gets damaged for some reason, it is very easy to take that portion out and install another section in its place. In addition, there are many different choices in colors and shapes in plastic landscape edging so that it can match any landscape design.
Another benefit of using plastic landscape edging is that it helps to block the root systems that lie under the lawn or garden area. For many homeowners, the grass that grows up in the cracks of the concrete of the driveway and sidewalk, as well as over the curb on the street is a constant problem that has to be trimmed. Since the plastic landscape edging is hammered down into the ground, it serves to block the root systems underground, which helps to prevent this problem from occurring. This saves time and energy in the long run, in addition to preventing cracking in the sidewalks and driveways around the house.
Plastic landscape edging also helps to hold in the materials that are in the planters so that they do not come onto the lawn and get caught in the lawn mower. Often individuals will use rocks, wood chips and other materials in the beds of planters to help prevent weeds from growing up in them. If there is not an edging around the planter, these materials will eventually slip out onto the lawn where they must be picked up and placed back into the planter. If they are not, they can hit the lawn mower blade and be flung out of the lawn mower, which is dangerous in addition to dulling the blade.
There are other materials besides plastic landscape edging that can be used effectively around planters and gardens. Individuals who are not concerned about root systems will often go with bricks, stones or railroad ties which have a unique decorative effect in a yard. These materials do not sink into the ground, so they do not prevent the root system from spreading. They also do not interlock, so weeds and grass can spring up in the cracks and have to be either pulled or trimmed with an edger.
