How to create a dramatic garden that lights up at night

The cost of outdoor lighting can range from $15 for a new LED bulb to thousands of dollars in design and installation fees. You can work with a landscape architect and/or a lighting design

and installation company, or do it yourself. But whether you're installing a few DIY outdoor lights or spending thousands on a new landscape, here are five ways to keep your yard

welcoming to birds and helpful insects: LIGHT ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. Ask yourself how much time you'll spend outdoors and where, and how important it is to see outdoor features from

inside, which will require stronger lighting to compensate for the competition from indoor lights, Buccino says. Consider safety first, so start with steps and handrails. And, be considerate

of the neighbors. MAKE THE INVESTMENT. Jacob Avakian, coowner of Vineyard Home, a Massachusetts-based home improvement company, suggests investing in the best equipment you can afford —

preferably with a lifetime warranty — rather than the cheapest solar lights. “Usually what happens in the first week or two, one of them dies, one of them gets stepped on by the landscaper,

one of them gets run over by the car, some of them just stop working overtime,” he says. “We're trying to educate people because they'll go to the [big-box store], they'll

spend $500 and they go the next week and spend another $500." USE TECHNOLOGY. Timing switches have become so sophisticated that they can be programmed to change colors for the holidays

or dim lights during particular months of the year, such as during migration season, says Avakian. If you want to start with smart switches for outdoor lights, they will run less than $200

each, he says. GO FOR WARM HUES. Both LED and metal halide fixtures have large amounts of blue light in their spectrum, but that blue light is the most harmful to humans and wildlife, says

the IDA. The IDA recommends lighting with less blue in the spectrum — bulbs that are rated at 3,000 kelvins or less. “When LEDs first came out, they were just these pure, bright, white

glaring fixtures that no one really likes,” says Tom Crabtree, the other coowner of Vineyard Home. “But now they can control the color temperatures on the bulb." DON'T FORGET SMALL

CHANGES. Set timers or turn off lights when you're not using them! And consider this: If you're using incandescent or LED bulbs, white light is going to attract insects, says

Mizejewski. But insects aren't attracted to yellow light, he says, so swap out the bulbs. “They now make yellow light bulbs specifically for outdoor light fixtures; the lighting quality

isn't so yellow that it colors everything.”