DIY Uplighting — Year-round, Low-cost Magic in Your Yard

by EmDirr @ DustandDoghair.com

I love the look of uplighting…lights, bark, leaves, shadows….the whole effect makes me want to light up every tree and plant in our yard. It even makes this scrubby willow bush look lovely:

diy uplighting year round low cost magic in your yard, go green, plumbing

I especially like how it revives an autumn landscape or showcases a front door wreath or architectural feature.

Uplighting is not only beautiful when the trees are full with greenery

but is especially lovely as the seasons change…illuminating red and golden leaves in the fall…

or the bark of leafless trees in winter.

True landscape lighting artists paint with light…they have vision, create landscapes for light and don’t necessarily light everything…they create night time features and focal points.

They also charge a-plenty for their skill, time and expertise…for which I have NO dispute. Or budget (with four young adults always in my wallet).

At our house, this calls for a DIY.

Next summer I’d like to solve the mystery of low-voltage lighting, but I don’t have time for that lesson this year, so I want something I can plug in with an extension cord, attach to a timer (or daylight sensor), and enjoy. I've been having a blast painting our backyard with light this fall and have been experimenting everywhere I can take an extension cord...

The lights I used are 6 watt-LED. ...way more economical than the 45-watt incandescents I used to use. You can search for your own, they're not hard to find, (but there ARE links on my blog to a $10 model IF you need or want help).

It doesn't matter to me where you get lights, but try it! It can really help you enjoy your yard more through the long, dark winter months...even on a single tree.

I just did these at my parent's house last night...in the dark. I used four lights and it took about half an hour to set them up.

Since first posting this, I've done a little more research and discovered that "light pollution" is a thing....

SO....Okay...I will endeavor NOT to light my ENTIRE yard (even thought it looks so pretty. I will also double check the lights I DO use, to make sure they are not annoying to any neighbors (which I've always done from the start). AND...I will make sure they "time off" at a reasonable hour so the animals and nature can enjoy their dark skies.

More tips, photos (and supplier links for anyone interested) are available, of course, in the blog post at DustandDoghair.com.