Why haven’t we touched on this before now, I wonder? This is probably the most popular thing that we do at NightScenes, but I have never written about it.
We are so blessed here in the greater Austin, Texas area to have some majestic oak trees of several different varieties. Just to name a few, most properties in our area including the hill country have live oaks, red oaks, post oaks, bur oaks and/or white oaks. Although these are all oak trees, they are each different and should not all be illuminated the same way.
Live oak trees can have a canopy that is wider than it is tall, and if properly maintained, their canopy may have some very open areas. Red oaks on the other hand may be more compact in the canopy and not nearly as wide. Also, live oak trees are evergreen, while red oaks are deciduous trees and get some great color in the fall. Then the leaves are different colors of green throughout the rest of the year; light affects these leaves in different ways.
We have seen massive live oak trees that required 12 fixtures or more to illuminate them properly, while we may be able to illuminate a white oak with only two fixtures. The reason for these different fixture quantities may primarily be due to the size of the tree, the location of the tree, desired effect or maybe the request of the client.
The light intensity is bound to be much different as well. A small tree will not need nearly as much light as a very large tree. I have seen some lighting systems out there that use the same light with the same output for every single thing they want to light. This is overkill in some places and nearly enough lumens in other places. Trees with light bark will not need the same light intensity as a tree with very dark bark as well.
For almost all oak trees, there is the option of up lighting or down lighting or both, provided there are no dark-sky restrictions. I am a big fan of both when it comes to large trees if their location suites it. Why create a moonlight effect in an area where the ground can’t be seen where the shadows will play out from this effect? But then again, maybe the tree really lends itself well to be illuminated from the inside out. In some cases, the tree is a focal point; and therefore needs to be up lit to create some drama. Occasionally, it’s best to accent the inner structure of the tree without catching all of the foliage of the outer branches.
The point of this blog is to show that there is not a simple rule of thumb when it comes to oak tree lighting. There are many different things to consider when developing an outdoor lighting plan with special attention to trees. Each project will be different. Size, shape, color, density, location and surroundings are just a small sampling of factors to consider when designing lighting for trees.
Let us know if we can be of assistance in accenting some of your beautiful central Texas trees by contacting us here.
Thank you very much for the great feedback