Ways To Light Up Your Night
Living in the Tualatin OR area means we are North. The PDX metro area is approximately on the 45.5° latitude. The 45° parallel is halfway between the equator and the north Pole (there is a sign about it just north of Salem as you drive north towards Woodburn and Wilsonville). So, Portland is officially closer to the North Pole than the equator. That makes for some short days and long nights when the summer equinox is over. Landscape lighting will let you enjoy your yard, even when the sun sets at 4:30 in mid-December, or it can let you continue the summer block party after the sun goes down at 9:00. Below, we’ve identified a few ways you can light up your night through different types of landscape lighting.
Path Lights
Path lights, also called hat lights, are used to illuminate the ground to light a pathway (as the name suggests). This is a convenience when you want to make sure you and your guests know where to walk. They can follow a sidewalk up to the front door, or a pathway through the yard. They aren’t very tall, but will give plenty of illumination for your feet.
Up Lights
Up lights are used to illuminate features in the yard by shinning upwards (they sure nailed the naming convention). You may wonder why you want to shine a light upwards. This is a great way to highlight trees or flagpoles. Lighting trees make for beautiful scenery and is a good way of adding a small measure of security because it helps eliminate dark patches.
Wall Lights
These are often unobtrusive lights added into walls and steps (three for three on names). These are often hidden in a wall beneath retaining wall caps, so it illuminates the wall and ground without actually seeing the light fixture. This can be used to illuminate patios or steps or if the retaining wall runs along a pathway, it is a way of lighting the pathway.
Landscape lighting options are endless. No matter the size of the property, it can be helpful to ward off the dark nights that plague the Tualatin, OR area.
