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Aug 05, 2024

Enhancing your outdoor space is about more than just selecting the right plants; it's also about showcasing them in the best possible light. When it comes to landscape lighting installation, choosing the right plants to illuminate can transform your garden into a stunning nighttime oasis. Here are the top five favorite plants to light up, providing both aesthetic appeal and functionality to your outdoor lighting installation.

1. Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses, such as Miscanthus, Fountain Grass, and Feather Reed Grass, are popular choices for adding texture and movement to landscapes. Their tall, wispy stems and delicate seed heads create a striking silhouette when illuminated at night. By placing low-voltage path lights or spotlights at the base of these grasses, you can create a soft, diffused glow that highlights their graceful forms.

Why They’re a Favorite:

Ornamental grasses add vertical interest to your landscape, and when lit from below, they create dramatic shadows that dance in the breeze. This effect can be particularly mesmerizing along walkways or as a backdrop to garden beds, making them an excellent choice for both aesthetic and functional lighting.

2. Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

The Japanese Maple is renowned for its vibrant foliage and intricate branch structure. These small to medium-sized trees are perfect candidates for accent lighting, particularly during the fall when their leaves turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow.

Why They’re a Favorite:

The Japanese Maple’s unique shape and seasonal color changes make it a standout feature in any garden. Using well-placed uplights or spotlights to highlight the tree’s canopy creates a warm, inviting atmosphere that enhances the beauty of your landscape year-round.

3. Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are beloved for their large, showy blooms that come in shades of pink, blue, white, and purple. These shrubs are perfect for lighting because their dense flower clusters catch and reflect light beautifully, creating a soft, romantic ambiance.

Why They’re a Favorite:

Hydrangeas bloom during the summer months, making them ideal for outdoor entertaining spaces. Using path lights or small spotlights around the base of the plants can emphasize their lush foliage and vibrant flowers, turning them into glowing focal points in your landscape.

4. Boxwood (Buxus spp.)

Boxwoods are classic evergreen shrubs known for their dense, compact growth habit. They’re often used for hedges, topiaries, or as foundation plantings. Their tidy appearance and ability to be shaped into various forms make them a versatile choice for landscape lighting.

Why They’re a Favorite:

Boxwoods maintain their green color year-round, providing a constant element of structure in your garden. When illuminated with well lights or low-profile fixtures, their clean lines and rich foliage add a touch of elegance to pathways, driveways, and garden borders.

5. Hostas

Hostas are shade-loving perennials that are prized for their large, textured leaves and attractive foliage. They come in a variety of colors, including deep green, blue, and variegated patterns, making them a popular choice for shady garden beds.

Why They’re a Favorite:

Hostas thrive in low-light conditions, making them an ideal plant to illuminate with subtle, low-voltage lighting. The broad leaves catch the light beautifully, creating a serene and calming effect in shaded areas of your garden. Path lights or ground-level spotlights are perfect for highlighting the contours and patterns of Hosta leaves.

Enhance Your Garden View

By carefully selecting and lighting your favorite plants, you can create a stunning nighttime landscape that enhances the beauty of your garden and adds value to your home. Whether you're highlighting a majestic Japanese Maple or a bed of vibrant Hydrangeas, having professionals at Abulous Lighting perform the right outdoor lighting installation will bring your garden to life after dark.

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Kimberly Buckland

Absolute Lighting installed my outdoor flood lights 2 years ago and they are beautiful! They did such a great job that I used them to setup and take down the Christmas lights for the past 2 years. I would highly recommend them. Frank always responds to questions and automatically puts me on the schedule for set up and take down of the Christmas Lights.

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Graham Antin

We love Abulous lighting and have been using them for years  They are very responsive and professional and  will come back no questions asked for any follow up work  Good pricing and highly trustworthy  Frank, the owner, is a true  stand up guy.  I recommend without reservation

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Allan Conlan

Frank and the team at Abulous were great to work with. They came out and retro-upgraded some previous lighting that we had done a few years back and made it look as seamless and continuous as possible. They also worked with us on the best (& most economical) way to light up a hard to reach area of our yard. They also followed up with us after we had another group of workers "disturb" some of the lighting wires and came back out and fixed everything back up again. Very friendly, dependable local resource who do great work. Highly recommend.

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Mike Thomas

After reviewing multiple companies we contracted with Abilous Lighting to create outside accent lighting for our home, backyard patio, walkways, & fire pit.  Their ideas and design were the best!   It was a pleasure working with Frank Hasty, who did  the design, and his crew of Brandon & Rusty who performed the work.  All were excellent to work with.   We are very happy with Abulous Lighting.