People have a weird view of lighting that may just be outdated. I find a lot of clients who look fairly mystified when I mention what some lights in a landscape could do for them and invariably end up explaining the entire verse and legend in a long spiel that wears us all out. For what it’s worth, those who I convince to try it invariably applaud their great good sense in purchasing said lights when all is said and done. The fact is, outdoor lighting any more is stunningly easy to set up. The advent of low-voltage lighting is a supremely promising development, bringing it well within the realm of budgetary possibility as well as in its newer ease of installation. A transformer, some wire, a few lights, a plug in and you are off to the races as a lit up maven of outdoor night time beauty and wonder. Suddenly, instead of some dismally dark and foreboding atmosphere outdoors in the dark, we find ourselves drawn even more outdoors, relishing the sights, sounds and personal gorgeousness of our own yards and landscaping.

It also has remarkable results. I have taken the liberty of borrowing a few pictures from John Stone, a friend oft-mentioned in here, who runs a successful local business and who is a true lighting expert and who also – more importantly – has had the wherewithal to actually take pictures at night! These will illustrate some of what I refer to as conceptual guidelines to this very refreshing and increasingly popular aspect of landscaping.

As shown in the above photo, lighting can be used as a simple accent, highlighting desired features in a landscape well worth highlighting. In this case, we have a creek with falls, the lighting for which can not only be seen alongside the creek itself with its running water, but which can also be placed under the falls to highlight them as well. In fact, many times a roaring little set of falls can yield an absolutely “phosphorescent” glow – just an incredibly beautiful sight. What John has done with this particular setting was to shine light along the sides of the creek as well. This is a definitely high rent solution and is as gorgeous as you could want. It makes the creek simply stand out as a true garden feature, drawing the eye to the entirety of the little roaring river. By highlighting such a feature, he has drawn complete attention to what the lighting conceptualizers call a “hot” lighting scenario. “Hot” lights are brighter, simply put, and they are intended to draw the eye. Around them, we might put softer lighting, for example “up lit” trees, walls and, say, rocks whose features are worthwhile but whose status in the lighting hierarchy serve a far different purpose.  Take this tree for example:

Disregarding the glaring light at the front for a moment (for the record, it is practically impossible to take lighting pictures at night owing to the apparent glare of other lights in the way which are not that obsequious in real life, trust me) imagine that tree highlighted at depth, say 40-50 feet away from the house.  This tree is up lit from the ground and therefore featured from hidden sources. Depending on the actual placement of this – or any other tree or similar feature – this can actually act as well as a sort of “wall” of your outdoor “room”, with other trees and features up lit to give a sense of depth and finality to the walls of the outdoor room. The point being that one can literally produce a sense of an outdoor environment complete with a terminating “room wall” with simple lighting. It encompasses and proscribes the area desired to highlight and makes things amazingly intimate and finite.

Other uses for lighting of course involve every aspect of patio life, from “down lighting” accents to accentuation of the gorgeous carpentry features of a gazebo or patio construction. The lights illuminate an entire environment in this situation, providing security and awareness for the party folks who will pour into your patio by the thousands. Trust me.

It’s been an odd month around this poster. In spite of the apparent message implicit in the first picture below, I have not been on a big bender (as much as I might have preferred it!), but, rather, have had a few technical issues to battle as well as just a sort of a need for a break. Well, I am back again, with a very nearly repaired computer – the one with the “real pictures” on it. Having figured it was toast – and having been told so by a geek-not-to-be-named-or-recommended, I find I have an utterly fixable major unit now in the shop and nearly better. Let’s move on, then. Today, I just want to entertain a little bit. I hope no one minds.

Having lived in Reno, Nevada, I once got totally surprised and delighted when an old schoolmate went and tried to get me to accompany her to the Burning Man Festival, this most wild event that takes place in the Black Rock Desert about 70 miles outside of Reno. That particular stretch of old lake bed is also famous for the site of the world’s fastest car, the British entry into the world speed sweepstakes and a winner, I might add, with this man driving that crazy rig of his faster than the speed of sound. The photo’s of that event redounded all over the local news and I pinched a few great shots I have kept on disk. Pretty remarkable stuff, really. If, that is, you want to travel 733 MPH, lol.

More peacefully – in fact, I suppose the epitome of “peacefully” – the Burning Man event may be the lunatic fringe of peacefulness – aside from the obsession with fire, that is. Anyway, it was 3 years ago that I accompanied her there and it was an experience I shall never forget. It was an absolute mental picnic, with creativity just off the charts. They paint themselves up and there is this beating, throbbing Rave music playing 24/7 in the background, all of which add to a sort of interesting tension in the air of a surprisingly accepting sort. I loved it all, frankly, but some of the art vehicles and the artwork itself was truly astounding and made the trip something more than I ever expected. I was shocked at it.  Here are some images from Burning Man:

Semi Trailer Art anyone?

Funky and historical! (or is that hysterical?)

Here’s a nice, peaceful ride:

A kinetic work of art:

Yes, these are both vehicles, lol:

Some crazy, crazy art:

Back to the cars and, yes, these all move and transport people while there: (This one is multi-purpose!…..with its partner in crime, the Venus Fly Trap, this one is gorgeous at night)

and quite functional during the 90 degree days:

Here’s a vehicle for Everyone………..(literally, lol)

and another big guy, not quite as warm and cuddly:

Finally, you could get amazed now and then by stunning human sights as well:

All in all, a definite few eye fulls of stuff at Burning Man. For more, check out their website, amazing stuff: http://www.Burningman.com

The term “mulch” itself is defined as follows: “In agriculture and gardening, mulch is a protective cover placed over the soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local climate. A wide variety of natural and synthetic materials are used.”

While this statement is largely true, I would like to add that we often apply mulch for strictly aesthetic reasons as well. Many times a “mulch” in this sense is just a layer laid over the top of soil to present a “look”. For example, the project in this picture had an interesting set of boulders – all fractured rock, mined nearby – against which the layer of smaller rock we installed matched well and also provided and excellent background for the color represented in the shrubbery and perennial flowers.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

A more mature look at this landscape a year later shows the effect is still working:

Still other forms of mulch do indeed act as either agents to hold water for a longer period, defying the sun’s rays and evaporative power, or acting as resistance to infestations of weeds and volunteers. Bark Mulch is the perfect example of this quality and it can also look pretty nice. Here, then is a small tour of bark mulch, from my projects in the past. The first two are representative of bark from Douglas Fir, tending towards the reddish color:

The bark mulch shown below is a darker variety – an aged Hemlock mulch becoming more popular in Portland, Oregon these days. It is more often characterized as “bark dust” – owing to its smaller size. One reason I tend to use it often is that it resembles the soil color and makes a deeper, darker background. It works fabulously as a water retainer and weed preventer, being nice and tight and much less prone to blowing away in the wind. Nor does it need the “freshening” the redder varieties of bark mulch require. As it ages, it still looks good.

My personal biases lead more towards rocks as mulch, however. They are definitely more permanent and, to me, they just make a more interesting look. I like varying the rock, bear in mind. It seems to me to give a depth and interest that is very easily achieved, simply by the contrast of materials. Here’s a project that was real straightforward that gained immensely from having something interesting laid on the ground. A little variation can go a long way:

At times, we found disposing of rocks created during excavations for irrigation and or walls and sidewalks became easier when we used it as material to use in the beds. I mean, who knew we had such resources right under our very feet??? Heck, we had found uses for “Those dam rocks.”:

In the end, garden mulches are useful and can be aesthetically pleasing. Of course, I am also of the opinion, often, that dirt still works best, but sometimes plants themselves work better!:

Hey, I’m a dirt fancier!