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Pre-planning your outdoor lighting: Bush Lighting Display

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Well, it is growing even closer to holiday decorating time. Hard to believe the leaves will soon be off the trees and we will be thinking of Christmas soon. That brings me to my next installment on my holiday decorating blogs. I get e-mails all year long with people asking how to make holiday lighting look it's best and the number one question I hear is "how do you light up bushes and trees effectively"?

Bushes and Trees are TOUGH. Odd shapes, nothing is perfectly square or round, and it is difficult to do it right an not make it look like a strand of lights just hanging there. I will tackle the bushes in this blog and next month I will teach you some secret tips on how to make you trees look glorious.

Ok, so let me help you. Let's start with bushes, they're easier. Start at THE TOP. (really..not at the bottom?). Yup at the top. But, start your light strand so that it drapes over the top of the bush towards the ground in the BACK of the bush with the electrical plug just off the ground.

The whole idea is to NOT make it look like a straight line of lights. Nothing is straight in mother nature and remember when it gets dark the bush will virtually disappear and all you will see will be the lights. You want to avoid straightness (this way the ONLY straight and vertical line of lights will be in the back). Plus, this way the electrical connection will be at ground level and the lights will be suspended off the ground making the lights appear to "float in midair".

Don't make the mistake of "wrapping" the bush in lights or walking around it laying the lights from top to bottom, this will make it look like a suspended coil of lights, not a bush (unless you like that look in which case there are no rules, go for it). By making large "S" shapes with your light strands and making the loops as UN uniform as possible, some big some small...the lights will be much more random and define the bush shape better.

Feel free to weave the lights in and out of little branches to make it follow the shape of the bush. It takes a little practice but do your best to space the lights out so that the other end of the cord winds up being at the lowest part of the bush so that you can make your electrical connection and move to the next bush. If you have to you can fiddle with the lights after they are on the bush to make the end of the cord reach to where you need it to be. Keep the cord ends about a foot off the ground if you can.

I use extension cords BETWEEN bushes so that no lights are hung in a midair "tight rope" between bushes. This also breaks up the line of sight end defines each bush as its own visual experience. Try to find the shortest needed extension cords for this and you can hide them on the ground.. they won’t be seen at night.

One last thing, take the time to clip a few of the lights to a small branch or twig, if your lights don't have clips, an occasional wire twist tie from a bread wrapper will keep your lights in place during wind storms of heavy rains and snow. That way you don't have to decorate more than once and you can enjoy the light show.

Hope this helps. OH and if you want to make it REALLY easy, purchase some Bethlehem Net lights.

H19841 Bethlehem Lights 70 Count Plug In Net Lights

More to come next month, enjoy!