Outdoor Lighting: Uplighting Your Gaithersburg MD Landscape

There are different types of outdoor lighting; today, we’ll be talking about uplighting - and how you can use it to enhance the beauty, comfort, and safety of the landscape at your Gaithersburg MD home.

“Uplighting” refers to the directional focus of the light. Uplights are usually mounted below or at ground level, in order to make the most of the light shining up. These are usually placed in such a way that they are almost hidden during the day.

Uplighting, as a part of your overall outdoor lighting in Gaithersburg MD, can add so much to your landscape design. Uplighting draws the eye to areas in your landscaping that you want others to focus on. With uplighting, you can:

• Create drama in your landscape with shadows
• Show off your prized plants, trees, and water features
• Add depth to outdoor walls, fences, or other flat surfaces
• Contribute ambient light for safety and security
• Establish or emphasize outdoor space boundaries
• Draw attention away from eyesores

There are four main types of uplights: bullet/spotlights, wash lights, well lights, and flood lights. Bullet/Spot lights usually have a narrow spot beam, and used to focus on a particular tree or plants. Wash lights, are just that - a wash of light, perfect for adding visual interest in plants lower to the ground, shrubs, and wall surfaces. Wash lights are also used to provide soft lighting for pathways. Well lights are installed below grade, and light the underside of plants, benches, or the lower part of walls. Flood lights are brighter, and have a wider beam than bullet lights. They are used for illuminating house facades or extremely large trees.

For more information on using outdoor lighting (such as uplighting) at your Gaithersburg MD home, please contact East Coast Landscape Design. East Coast Landscape Design will provide everything to complete your project, from engineering design to wire and fixtures. Let one of our East Coast landscape design specialists show you how a well-designed outdoor lighting system can add to the beauty and safety of your Gaithersburg MD home and landscape.