Landscape Contractor / Design Build Maintain

APR 2014

LC/DBM provides landscape contractors with Educational, Imaginative and Practical information about their business, their employees, their machines and their projects.

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32 LC DBM Groundwork We used a variety of fixtures on this project including some from FX Luminaire for both up lighting and down lighting purposes. Those fixtures housed a 5-watt LED lamp with a 40-degree spread for the larger trees, or a 5-watt LED lamp with 25-degree spread for palm trees. Vista fixtures were employed for some down lighting as well, typically housing a 4-watt LED lamp with a 60-degree spread or a 5-watt LED lamp with a 40-degree spread. For path lighting, Cop- per Moon fixtures with 2.4-watt LED lamps were chosen. Lumierre and Hadco products were used for mounted down lights with either a 4-watt LED lamp with a 40-degree spread or a 5-watt LED lamp with a 40-degree spread. For wall washing, Universal fixtures housing 2.4- watt LED lamps were tapped. The lamps were from Dauer and Brilliance. It took Rollins, Wick- enhoefer, and a field crew of four almost a full week to complete the installation. This included several night visits to ensure that all fix- tures were properly aimed to accomplish what was intended within the design. Due to the sensitivity of the garden and the mature plantings, all of the work was completed with hand tools and ladders. Moonlighting makes it part of our daily practice to work with "light feet," meaning that we take into account what is planted in the gardens to make sure that nothing is disturbed or damaged in the process. One of our pillars has been: always leave a garden better than we found it. Several aspects of the design are worth noting. An existing live oak tree that flanks the main garden and is most often used for wedding ceremonies now stands proudly lighted up. A grove of crape myrtles separating the main garden from the side yard and the secret garden are now lit with a combination of up lighting and down lighting, help- ing to make for a nice transition between the gardens. Because the biggest overall cost of maintenance was the constant bulb replacements, the conversion to LED lamps will reduce the costs and alleviate many of the maintenance issues, but regular mainte- nance is still advised to ensure that fixtures remain aimed properly, clean and free of debris and free of any excessive vegetation that might be hindering the intended effects. Moonlighting received great feedback from McCormick as well as many people who have recently attended events. Since the comple- tion of this project, we have been called back several times to further enhance other areas of the garden and to begin the process of phas- ing out the existing fixtures and replacing them with fixtures to our specifications. Top: The Gov. Thomas Bennett oak is the focal point of the garden. There were three existing up lights. The new lights are two 5-watt LEDs with 40-degree spreads, and one 5-watt LED with a 30-degree spread. There are also three Hadco down lights mounted in the tree to light the center of the oak, and one to highlight the main limbs, all 5-watt LEDs with 40 degree spreads. The Copper Moon path lights use 2.4-watt LEDs. Top, Middle: In the Fountain/Crescent Garden a downward facing fixture in a large oak illuminates the fountain with a 4-watt LED with a 40-degree spread. The crescent garden hedge is lit with 12 Universal wall wash fixtures (2.4-watt LEDs). The two Vitex trees, also known as Chaste, Hemp, Sage and Indian Spice, are each uplit with two 4-watt LEDs with 30 degree spreads (existing fixtures). Bottom, Middle: In the Secret Garden, two FX Luminaire down lights, each with a 5-watt, 40-degree-spread LED, illuminate the area to the right. The bench is lit with a single down light with the same type of lamp. Bottom: These two tree-form ligustrums are each downlit by a fixture with a 4-watt, 60-degree-spread LED. Fixtures with 2.4-watt LED lamps were chosen for the path lights. DBM LC 030-033.indd 32 3/27/14 9:24 AM

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