Black garden wall lights, nothing special, are they? Well, I'm not so sure, at this year's Hampton Court Palace Flower Show one of the most popular exhibits was a garden designed around the colours of black, purple and green. Plants like ophiogon, alliums, and black tulips were planted against a background of polished black pebbles and dark stained decking.
The garden lighting scheme, including spotlights, uplights, and wall washers, was all black. The whole effect was one of restrained glamour, elegance, and was very upmarket. And there is absolutely no reason why you can't achieve a similar effect, and for minimal outlay.
As far as the decking goes, ebony is probably out of the question, not only is it expensive, it is incredibly dense and you'd be hard put to get a nail, screw, or indeed any tool, into it. However, you could choose something like oak and stain it.
Black or near black plants include:
- Ligularia dentata
- Lysimachia Firecracker
- Sambucus Nigra Black Night
- Prunus cersifera Nigra
- Corylus maxima Purpurea
- Heuchera Stormy Seas
- Physocarpus opulifolius Diabolo
- Oxalis triangularis
- Pelagonium (Crimson/Black)
- Sambucus Black Lace
- Phormium Platts Black
- Iris Sable Knight
- Ophiopogon planiscapus Nigrescens
- Pittosporum tenifolium Tom Thumb
- Salvia officinalis Purpurascens
- Ipomaea Sweet Charlotte
- – Cosmos Chocolate
- – Dahlia Red Bishop
As far as the garden lighting goes, black garden wall lights come in all styles from weathered finish Victorian style to modern eyelid designs. Mostly, coloured wall lights of this type are constructed from solid aluminium and then spray painted; they are easy to maintain. To integrate the wall lights into your security lighting system, it is a simple enough process to install a PIR sensor or a photocell sensor.
Garden design is an art that has to be learned, however, a very good and basic place to start is by planning around a simple colour scheme. Black garden wall lamps could form the basis of a very exciting garden design indeed.
