Ponds that are a focal point in the day all but disappear when the sun goes down. Pond lighting gives your prized garden feature a nightlife. Besides that, you don’t want guests stumbling into your pond in the dark, so whether for safety or for beauty, we take a look at three viable options to enhance pond and water features. White or coloured lights turn the garden into a fantasy wonderland.

Downlights – Natural Pond Lighting

Mimicking nature, downlights produce soft diffused illumination. Installing these onto overhanging branches all but creates your own moonshine (so, ja, don’t get the wrong idea). Whereas submersible lights show off your pond, downlighting enhances more than just the pond. The surrounding foliage also gets a fair share of the limelight. They also last longer than their submerged cousins and are naturally easier in the maintenance department.

Uplights – Accented Pond Lighting

The versatility of uplights lies in that they can be directional. Placed close to the edge of the pond, preferably hidden in the surrounding foliage, the effect is as dramatic as you want it to be. Accentuating rock features and highlighting the movement of bubbles from fountains or waterfalls, and endless kaleidoscope is created.

Submersed Pond Lights – Sparkling Effect

There are pros and cons to submersible lighting, the downside being that dirt shows up and algae tends to grow over the lenses. The cure is to keep the pond really clean. The upside is that the fish, if you have such in the pond, are lit up as they swim past. Submersed pond lights come absolutely into their own when angled underneath waterfall pond features. The water absolutely sparkles and the constant agitation keep dirt away and discourages algae, which prefers still water.

With a wide range of pond lights available these days, your creativity can find satisfying fulfilment. You may choose Halogen or LED lights, plain or coloured globes for your feature. Another good idea is to have more than one visual option – one relay could be used for muted lighting so that no one inadvertently falls into the water in the dark of night, or when no one’s about to appreciate spectacular lighting (and to save electricity). Another phase can be laid for when there’s an audience to applaud the full concert of your selected lighting effects. Chances are you’re going to love your pond feature more at night than during the day once you’ve cleverly installed some pond lighting.