Sustainable LED landscape Lighting

Sustainable LED landscape Lighting

by Mike Gambino

This recently completed project marks the return of Diane Larson of Gardens by Di, a landscape designer/contractor based in ventura county. I have known Diane for probably 12 years or so and have worked together with her lighting her gardens for many years. We probably have worked on 15 projects together over the years.

Four years ago she took a leave from her business to raise her two boys. This project marks her return and it was important to her to come back in a big way to re-establish herself in the marketplace. I think she did a great job and the clients are very pleased.

Diane contacted me early spring of this year and put me on notice to gear up for a project she was designing and contracting. She wanted me to do the lighting, of course I was interested right away. Its a new home construction, a one story 5,200 square foot Spanish style architecture, so she started with a clean slate.

She said she was designing a certified sustainable landscape with very low water requirements to maintain the vigor of the drought tolerant plantings. What a great opportunity for me to design a 100% LED low voltage landscape lighting system and that’s exactly what I did with Diane and the owners guidance.

This was not an easy site to work on as the soil is rock hard and the surface drainage of water very poor.

Since Diane and I have worked together so many times before she understands the importance of bringing us into the project early. This gave us the opportunity to prewire the system and install all of our conduit in conjunction with the sprinkler system installation and large trees.

With soil this hard to work with being able to get into the site before all of the small plantings were installed saved the client money and allowed them to maximize their budget for lighting as we didn’t need to contend with boulders and other obstacles while installing conduit and cable.

The smooth architectural white stucco walls are softly washed with fixtures that have special optic lenses installed which widen and diminish the intensity of the light output providing just enough light to bring attention to the building without over powering it.

Hardscape elements play an important part in the design. There are Santa Barbara sand stone walls and boulder clusters that add interest throughout the landscape.

There is a Flagstone front entryway path inter planted to soften the stone.

In addition there are several Clay jugs and pottery featured with succulent plantings peaking out of them. An earth tone three tier fountain adds the tranquil sound of splashing water in this otherwise dry landscape.

It was important to the owner that the landscape look clean and uncluttered which meant using very low profile accent fixtures. This meant no direct light on the front entry path from traditional spread or path light fixtures. In order to compensate for this we installed brighter lights up lighting the stone pillars and potted plants which the client felt was a desired trade off. Once the plants mature there will not be any fixtures visible to the eye during the day or evening.

The nice thing about working with Diane is that she allows me space and latitude to work, appreciates my professional opinion and trusts that I’m going to build her vision of how the property should be illuminated at night and she doesn’t micromanage the process. This makes for a very smooth and enjoyable project and a very successful one as well for all parties.

For instance we walked the site while the masonry walls and flat work was under construction. She pointed out where the trees, fountain, seating areas and other amenities were going to go. We then viewed the landscape plan and within an hours time I had a full understanding of what she and the owners desired in regards to lighting. Never once did she say I need 2 fixtures here, 4 there, etc. She simply told me what she wanted and it was my responsibility to make it happen. This is how I work my best and I think the results show.

Not only is the landscaping sustainable but the whole LED landscape lighting system front and back operates on less than 200 watts of power and can truly be categorized as a sustainable landscape lighting system. Lighting controls are capable from within the home and integrated with a wireless remote control system which also operates the spa in the backyard.

Welcome back Diane ! Hopefully we will once again be working together soon and on many projects in the future.

This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .

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