Moonlit Magic: Exploring the Wonders of Landscape Lighting

By Sarah Alford, Programs and Education Assistant, JC Raulston Arboretum

As the days get shorter, it's harder to make it home in time to enjoy our gardens before dark. Landscape lighting can extend the usability of our gardens. The JC Raulston Arboretum is excited to announce the return of Moonlight in the Garden, a six-night event, in partnership with Southern Lights of Raleigh, Inc., delivering nighttime wonder as attendees explore our gardens lit up after nightfall. 

John Garner, founder and president of Southern Lights of Raleigh, has exciting installations planned for this year's event, hoping to primarily experiment with motion and light. Given that two-thirds of our entire garden will be lit, there will be plenty of opportunities for visitors to gain inspiration for their own home gardens.

There are a variety of reasons to install landscape lighting, including safety, aesthetics, usability, and privacy. A successful design limits the primary area of focus to one or two key features, and utilizes accent lighting for other secondary features. There are many types of fixtures available for use, and John pulls from over thirty different lines in his own designs. If you are interested in exploring these ideas further, we'd definitely recommend that you come out to the Moonlight event to gain a first-hand look at the options available and talk to John and his highly-trained staff.

John partners with the JCRA for this event to give back to the landscape community. Moonlight in the Gardenis the JCRA's biggest yearly fund-raiser, helping us keep our gates open to the public without admission 365 days a year. In addition to John's light creations, the Moonlight event this year will feature children's activities, live music, food trucks, and fire pits. We hope you'll come out and join us to learn more about the beauty of landscape lighting and the benefit of supporting the JCRA.

JC Raulston Arboretum will be hosting The 2017 Moonlight in the Garden event for two weekends: November 9–11 and November 16–18. Advance tickets are available at jcra.ncsu.edu/moonlight/ or at the Arboretum front desk. Please call (919) 515-3132 for more details.

References

Garner, John. 2017. Phone interview by Sarah Alford. October 5, 2017.