5 Tips for Lighting Your Garden Path: Do's and Don'ts

January 6, 2025

Are you struggling to light your garden path effectively? Fear not, for here is an expert guide that will give you practical tips on lightening your garden path and mistakes you must avoid for a perfectly lit garden path.

First and foremost, understand that the best, most expensive lights in the market will also not be able to save your garden path if you don't get these tricks and tips right. So, let's dive right in.

You must have gone overboard in the past and huddled multiple lights in the garden path and ended up with a runway garden path. This happened because the right spacing was not followed. Industry experts believe that a crude spacing of 8-10 feet between the lights will help in uniform illumination of your path, keeping it well-lit all over the area.

Now that you have understood how to place the lights throughout the path, you need to learn how to place them in the path. How far back or front should you place the light so that it creates great illumination? Experts suggest that a general rule of thumb to follow here is to measure the light and keep it away for those feet from the walkway. If you have a foot-tall path light, it would be practical to place it a few feet away from the walkway. This way, you can ensure the safety of people walking in the walkway and also make cleaning and landscaping convenient.

With the placement and spacing of the lights all done, let's now divulge the right direction of the lights. Just placing the lights facing the walkway sure does sound simple and straightforward. But it's not that simple. Experts suggest that downward-facing lights are the best bet for your garden path. It helps illuminate the path without any glare, keeping it simple and practical.

The right colour and intensity need to be chosen for lighting your garden path. Light colour is measured in Kelvin and the higher the Kelvin, the more like daylight the colour looks. Lower kelvin, the colour looks warm red, and orange. Experts suggest that your lights should be under 3000K, preferably around 2700K. This creates soft lighting and is very easy on the eye. You could also opt for off-white colours so it's similar to natural light and is aesthetically pleasing.

Solar lights for your garden paths might not be a great idea. Experts say that solar lights are not economical as they don't last longer and often are above 3000K making the light harsher and not pleasing. If you are inching towards solar options for your lighting, it would be great to invest in high-quality ones that have sufficient battery life.

1. Wrong placement of the lights

The lights often are wrongly placed along the path creating a major safety issue. Nobody wants people trampling over their path. So, following the right placement of the lights is very important. This way you ensure that the entire path is rightly illuminated and any and every hazard is avoided.

2. Dim lights

Avoid using dim lights in your path. Invest in lights that are of bright tones, and natural so you can see the path, especially if the garden path is cobbled.

3. Cheap lights

Always invest in lights that can withstand natural elements like sun, and snow. You might be tempted to buy cheap lights like the plastic ones, but they are not reliable and hence not economical. Invest in aluminium lights as they are long-lasting and strong.

4. Use of solar lights

Solar lights might not be a great option to light up your garden path as much as you believe it is. Especially if you live in the North, where sunlight is scares, solar lights are not your best bet. Most solar lights need hours of daylight to charge and hence during winters, it might not lighten up your pathway as you hoped adding to your troubles.

With this newfound information, tips, and mistakes to avoid, your garden pathway is going to be lit!! Keep in mind that the lights you add to your pathway are not for a day, it's for years to come. Following through with all the tips that experts have provided for you in the article, you are now all set to succeed.