| Ponds and water features in the garden are the | | | | fish it may contain. Unless the water is exceptionally |
| horticultural equivalent of the TV in the living room. | | | | clean - as in high quality carp ponds with sophisticated |
| Many gardens use them as their visual focal point. | | | | filtration systems - the light will highlight all the |
| Water provides sound, colour and movement (just | | | | impurities floating in the water to create an effect |
| like the telly) and, because ponds attract a wealth of | | | | like headlights in fog. It will also tend to light the |
| wildlife, you get a never-ending flow of mini David | | | | bottom of the pond where all sorts of debris collects |
| Attenborough-style documentaries (again, just like | | | | - not the most attractive feature to highlight. A |
| the telly). No wonder ponds and water features are | | | | better alternative is to place upward-facing pond |
| so popular with gardeners and garden designers. | | | | lights to shine at any marginal planting, or perhaps to |
| To get the maximum value from your pond or water | | | | uplight a mature water lily. Bridges and jetties are also |
| feature, you need to be able to enjoy it in the | | | | attractive objects to uplight using a submerged pond |
| evening as well as during the day. Fountains, | | | | light, and doing so helps to make them safer at night. |
| cascades and rills, with their constant motion, are | | | | Fountains and waterfalls, of course, are perfect |
| certainly one of the most visually interesting | | | | candidates for uplighting. Placing one or more upward |
| candidates for illuminating at night, while lighting still | | | | facing pond lights in the water below will spotlight the |
| ponds allows you to soak up their serenity in the | | | | moving water against the darkness and accentuate |
| stillness of summer dusk. | | | | their sense of motion. Try experimenting with lamps |
| But before you reach for your garden lighting | | | | with different beam widths so the light beam is |
| catalogue, there are one or two dos and don'ts to | | | | focused purely on the running water, rather than the |
| bear in mind when lighting your pond. First, if you will | | | | surroundings. Another tip is to place your lights fairly |
| forgive a statement of the blindingly obvious, is to | | | | near the surface. Putting them deep will reduce the |
| make sure the lights are fully waterproof. Look for | | | | power of the light reaching the surface. It also makes |
| the Ingress Protection number IP68. The first number | | | | them more difficult to access for cleaning - the |
| (6) means the fitting is dust tight, and the second | | | | lenses tend to accumulate a layer of algae and |
| number (8) means it is protected against complete | | | | benefit from a regular wipe. |
| and continuous immersion in water. | | | | There are various types of pond light on the market. |
| Our second recommendation is to use a 12 volt | | | | Broadly speaking they divide into spotlights that are |
| lighting system. This is inherently safe, even if the | | | | fixed to a weight for stability, and spotlights that are |
| cable or light fitting is compromised, whereas putting | | | | screwed to the side or bottom of the pond using a |
| 240 volt mains electricity into water is only for those | | | | bracket. Bear in mind that the latter might cause |
| who enjoy living extremely dangerously. | | | | leakage issues. Pond lights are available in stainless |
| The next question is how best to light your water | | | | steel, solid copper or powder coated aluminum. Solid |
| feature? If you have a still pond, resist the | | | | copper is not recommended for ponds where fish |
| temptation to try to light the water itself, and any | | | | are kept. |