Trees stand tall and proud in your Chicagoland home landscape. The gleam green in the summer months, leaving dancing in the wind and casting great shade during sunny, warm days.
As the sun sets, trees become dark along with the rest of your landscape. And your once-welcoming landscape can become spooky. On top of that, you lose some valuable daylight enjoyment time outdoors.
Illumination in your landscape can change all that – turning your landscape from grim to glowing instantly. And your trees play a big role in this plan.
Let’s discuss landscape lighting for your trees, which can make your home more welcoming and extend your time outside.
*While this article offers helpful landscaping tips for residential properties, we now specialize exclusively in commercial landscaping services. If you manage a commercial property or HOA, see how we can enhance your landscape here.
The Best Landscape Lighting Ideas For Trees
There are so many places in your yard where you can put landscape lighting, but your trees bring the greatest range of ideas.
There are multiple approaches to landscape lighting for trees, but the height, shape, location, and desired impact can change how the lights are designed and installed.
With very little light designed and positioned in the right way, your trees can become illuminated accents that add great interest to your space, safety, security, and a bevy of bright moments in your Chicagoland yard.
1. Uplighting a Tree
Ideas for illuminating outdoor trees start with uplighting. This is when you place lights at a lower or ground level and point the light up toward the tree. Depending on the tree size and viewing angles, this can also involve adding multiple fixtures on the tree canopy.
This effect creates nighttime ambiance while enhancing safety.
Professional landscaping lighting designers take into account the tree height when uplighting trees, as this can make quite a difference in the background and avoid blinding a viewer.
2. Spotlighting a Tree
As directional lights, spotlights allow you to shine a light exactly where you intend.
Spotlighting can illuminate outdoor trees by making them the focal points of your landscape. Maybe you have a specimen tree or one with a unique branch structure. These would be excellent choices for well-placed and well-designed spotlights, transforming your trees into architectural elements.
3. Using Downlighting
You can also illuminate trees by using their tall structures as bases for downlighting.
Downlighting fixtures shine light down on a scene, providing a soft effect similar to nature. Think moonlighting.
Using this technique, light fixtures can be placed on tree trunks or large tree limbs. Fixtures perform best when they are expertly hidden, eliminating safety and security risks from the shadows and dark spaces trees can create at night.
4. Silhouetting a Tree
This technique for illuminating outdoor trees can create quite a bit of drama.
For instance, a tree near a patio or retaining wall can be used in partnership with a tree to create dramatic shadows that can be manipulated based on placement for a subtle effect or a more impactful one.
This is usually done best when focusing on one unique and amazing tree versus a group of trees.
5. Hanging Lights
Illuminating trees in your garden can also be done using hanging lanterns or small lights that add charm and twinkle to your patio or backyard.
If you also have a water feature nearby, the reflection in the water adds another visual of dancing light for an eye-catching, magical display.
Ready to Illuminate Trees in Your Chicagoland Home Landscape?
You take care of your trees, which look amazing during the day.
But when the sun sets, and those trees disappear into the night, do you find that you miss them? You might miss their tall strength, great stature, and amazing branch structure.
We understand. We’d miss them, too.
Hopefully these landscaping lighting ideas for trees give you some inspiration into how illumination can elevate your backyard appeal and functionality.
When you consider all of the tactics for landscape lighting your trees, it can feel overwhelming. Let KD Landscape take that worry off of your plate. We are experts at installing high-end landscape lighting in Greater Chicago area trees and can instantly deliver increased security and more usable time in your yard while bringing your trees to life.
Ready to see how KD Landscape can keep you entertaining and enjoying the outdoors into the evening hours? We’d love to share our design and installation expertise with you. Get started today with a free consultation. Together, we can prepare a plan that works best for lighting your trees.
