Learn how to 'zone' your garden lights with Philips Hue
Improve your garden design with Philips Hue lighting
Intentionally or not, every garden is divided into zones. Paved or decked social areas look very different to productive vegetable patches, lawns, and flowerbeds. Good lighting can enhance and beautify these differences. It can also be used as a safety feature - a well-lit path can be vital when moving around your garden in the evening and nighttime. One zone should also be kept in darkness, to create a habitat for nocturnal animals.
How can I zone my garden?
With the Philips Hue app, it’s easy to control each light individually, so you can choose complementary colours, different brightness levels and even switch between the best zoning effects for you and your wildlife visitors. This is because lights should only be directed to where they’re needed and positioned as low down as possible. Be careful your light isn’t shining into or reflecting off of windows. A good rule of thumb is to light where you need it, when you need it, in the amount needed, and no more. You can have dim, gentle light in social areas, as well as striking uplighting for trees, clear, bright paths, and vital areas of darkness, all at the touch of a button. This is easy to achieve with the Hue Lily spotlight (3 pack base kit | £274.99), which offers precise uplighting. What’s more, with the Philips Hue app, you can set timers for different lights to switch on at different times, and with the Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensors (£44.99) you can make sure your lights only turn on when you need them.
If you love a good get-together, make social areas like patios or decks your lighting focus. Remember to be considerate with the brightness and colour of the light. The colour of your lights can have a drastic impact on our wildlife and the atmosphere of your outdoor space. We recommend a maximum colour temperature of 2700 Kelvin - warm, amber hues around the colour and brightness of firelight. This is best for your health and wellbeing, as gentle light won’t interfere with your sleep cycle, and is less disruptive to neighbours. It’s also much better for the health of surrounding wildlife - it won’t wake sleeping diurnal (daytime) animals and will attract fewer nocturnal insects. It also makes your social spaces more inviting - after all, no one wants to eat under floodlights.
How can zoning help wildlife?
If you zone your garden lighting like this, you’re free to create a fantastic habitat at the end of your garden, giving you both beautiful lighting and a wildlife garden without compromising on either. Planting night-flowering plants like honeysuckle would draw in hawk moths from miles around. Semi-nocturnal scarlet tiger moths love hemp agrimony and raspberries, which also provide you with a tasty snack. Danielle Roberston, Snowdonia National Park’s Dark Sky Officer, suggests evening primrose, night phlox and common jasmine to draw in nocturnal and crepuscular (dawn and dusk) insects like carpenter bees. Their pale flowers are the most visible in the fading light, and are favourites amongst nocturnal species. As the moths flutter amongst the flowers, bats might join them and enjoy an evening meal. With the protection of the darkness you’ve created, you might even find a hedgehog snuffling in your borders, as well as frogs, toads and other amphibians.
If in doubt, follow these five principles for lighting:
● Useful – all light should have a purpose. If you don’t need to have a light there, it’s best not to have one.
● Targeted – lights should only be directed to where they’re needed and positioned as low down as possible. Be careful your light isn’t shining into or reflecting off of windows. This is easy to achieve with the Hue Lily spotlight (3 pack base kit | £274.99), which offers precise uplighting.
● Low Light Levels – lights should be as dim as possible.
● Controlled – Light should only be on when it’s useful. With the Philips Hue Outdoor Motion Sensors (£44.99) and the timer in the app, you can ensure your lights are only on when you need them.
● Colour – The colour of your lights can have a drastic impact on our wildlife and the atmosphere of your outdoor space. We recommend a maximum colour temperature of 2700 Kelvin, but the lower the better for our wildlife. This is a warm, amber colour which is not only inviting, it’s much better for your health and the health of our wildlife.