Newspaper Page Text
Page 6B
The Braselton News
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Lighting enhances beauty of landscapes
Shopping event ahead for local mother’s club
If the task of dragging a
plethora of Christmas lights
out of the basement, spread
ing them over the shrubs, and
hanging them from the eves
is beginning to seem like too
much of a chore, here’s a prac- _
tical alternative.
Instead of over-kill with so
much temporary illumination,
consider installing permanent
outdoor lighting you can enjoy
year-round.
You can still give permanent
lighting an extra holiday twist
by changing some of the white
spotlights to red or green with
colored bulbs or lenses. And
instead of trying to cover so
many of the foundation shrubs
with string or net lights, try
using reflective silver tinsel, gar
lands, ribbon, or mirrored glass
balls instead.
As long as you have sufficient
conveniently-located electrical
outlets outdoors, you can simply
plug in transformers and con
nect low-voltage cable to these
wherever outdoor lighting would
provide attractive nighttime illu
mination.
And, you’ll probably spend
no more time burying the cable
than you would arranging all
of the temporary holiday lights,
and replacing burned out bulbs.
Some homeowners like to use
cordless solar accent lighting for
this puipose, but there are two
major disadvantages to this.
First, most solar lights won’t
do a good job very far away
from whatever they’re supposed
to illuminate. And. second, most
of them are made with halogen
bulbs that give off a bluish flo-
rescent light that conflicts with
the warmer entryway fixtures
and lighting coming through a
home’s windows.
Low-voltage lights are easy
to connect to cable and come
in a variety of shapes and sizes,
each of which serves a differ
ent purpose in the landscape.
Spotlights are ideal for illumi
nating architectural features,
tree trunks, garden sculpture and
rock formations.
Mushroom or lily-shaped
lights, which focus downward,
on the other hand, are better
suited to accenting long lines
of foundation shrubs, walks, or
driveways.
There is a third option that is
ideal for giving a well-wooded
backyard a permanent moon
light glow, and this involves
mounting downward pointing
spotlights high up on the backs
of tree trunks.
To accomplish this, you simply
run cable extensions from the
ground to the fixtures, but avoid
attaching either the lights or the
cable to the trees with nails or
fence staples. This could injure
the trees, and provide points of
entry for insect pests.
Instead, purchase screen door
springs, stretch these around the
trunks, and attach the cable or
fixtures to these with twisted
wire. If you can’t find a man
ufactured spring long enough
to stretch around a tree, you
can make your own by coil-
h n
Haw Your New
Kitchen Floor Installed
Before Hie Holidavsf
BRASELTON TILE
FACTORY
TIIp+SuppJiK + Instalation * Design
9907 Dsdaftraol ■ Br-aseton, GA
(at the eornar u1 Hwy 53 fi Hwv. 124)
706-6544819 * 770-962-1254
Open Monttoy-Frfcby 730 a.m. - 5fl0 pm.,
■SHturrJfljIDlim-Jpm,
Gardener’s
Grapevine
with
Fil Jessee
filwrites@aol.com
ing heavy-gauge wire around a
broom handle, and making your
own springs this way. As trees
expand, the springs will adjust
to the increasing trunk diameters
without cutting into the bark.
The most cost-effective way of
getting started with a do-it-your
self outdoor lighting project is
to purchase complete light sets,
and amending these with addi
tional fixtures or cable exten
sions as your own individual
needs dictate.
But take care to read instruc
tions, and not exceed the rec
ommended number of fixtures
for the particular transformer
that comes with the set. Too
many lights on a transformer can
burn out the unit prematurely.
So, if you need more than the
safe number recommended, add
another transformer.
A number of outdoor-lighting
manufacturers offer sets that
contain a mixture of pathway
fixtures and spotlights, and some
even offer fixtures that can be
converted from one type to the
other. But, unfortunately, most
of the least expensive of these
are available only in black or
dark green plastic.
As durable as this material
may be under various weather
conditions, it tends to get
brittle with age and, when it
does, the snap-in lens covers
have a way of popping out
or losing their tight seals,
admitting rain water to the
wiring inside and eventually
ruining the fixture.
The best way to prevent this is
to avoid plastic fixtures altogeth
er and, instead, to purchase cast
aluminum sets instead. Although
these are a bit more expensive,
they tend to last longer and look
more attractive in areas where
they are not hidden from view.
However, if you have already
started your landscape lighting
with plastic and wish to continue
using the same material, you can
still prevent water damage to
electrical contact points inside
the fixtures. Simply apply petro
leum jelly to the contact points,
including the bases of snap-in
or screw-in light bulbs, to retard
corrosion and rust.
Finally, remember that with
any kind of outdoor lighting,
a little goes a long way and
too much can make your prop
erty look a little too honky-tonk.
But, then, that’s true of tasteful
landscaping in general.
Fil Jessee lives in Braselton,
where he works as a freelance
journalist. He is a Georgia
Certified Plant Professional with
experience in ornamental horti
culture and landscape design.
Reader questions relating to
gardening can be sent to Fil at
filwrites@aol. com.
The Braselton Mother’s Club will hold its “Shop
Till You Drop” event on Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 6:30
p.m., at The Falls of Braselton clubhouse.
The event will feature several vendors/consul
tants who own their own businesses, such as jew
elry, cards and clothing. A raffle and some refresh
ments also will be featured.
The Braselton Mother’s Club holds its social
gatherings and meetings on the fourth Tuesday of
each month, at 6:30 p.m. The group is an indepen-
‘Christmas in Lights
Hoschton Towne Center and MDM Real Estate
Group, LLC will present “Christmas in Lights” on
Saturday, Dec. 1, from 4-8 p.m.
The event will be held at Hoschton Towne Center,
located between Ga. Hwy. 332 and Ga. Hwy. 53,
near downtown Hoschton.
Santa will arrive at 4:30 p.m., and will be avail
able to be photographed with children, pets and
dent social club that serves as a support group for
all moms and moms-to-be. “Whether you are a
stay-at-home mom or a working mom, we believe
all moms need support through these tough times,”
according to a statement. The club provides weekly
playgroups for children, seasonal and holiday par-
lies. group outings and “Mom’s Night Outs.”
For more information, contact Trinity Pokusa
at Braseltonmothersclub@yahoo.com or
678-425-6545.
ahead in Hoschton
entire families. Children may join Mrs. Claus for
decorating Christmas cookies.
The event will feature Christmas tress, entertain
ment and food.
Dixie’s Pet Shop will host a fashion show featur
ing pet holiday wear at 6 p.m. Chez Femme Ladies
Boutique also will present a fashion show in the
evening.
Santa to visit Braselton Library on November 30
Children of all ages will want to begin preparing
their Christmas wish lists, as Santa will pay a visit
to the Braselton Library on Lriday, Nov. 30, from
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Sponsored by the Lriends of the Braselton-West
Jackson Library, Santa will read a story, pose
for photos and share juice and cookies with the
children.
Parents are invited to bring their cameras to take
photos of their children with Santa.
Lor additional information, contact the Braselton
Library at 706-654-1992.
Blood drives planned at Wrigley’s, MCHS
The American Red Cross is holding two upcom
ing area blood drives.
A blood drive will be held at Wrigley’s,
Inc., Llowery Branch, Lriday, Nov. 30, from
12:30-2:30 p.m. The plant is located at 4500
Atlanta Highway.
Also, a blood drive will be held at Mill Creek
High School, Hoschton, on Monday, Dec. 3, from
7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The school is located at
4400 Braselton Highway (Hwy. 124).
As part of the Red Cross’ Thanks for Giving pro
motion, donors who come to give blood between
now and Nov. 30 will be able to enter a drawing
for two Delta roundtrip domestic tickets.
Lor more information, call 1-800-GIVE-LILE
(448-3543) or visit www.redcrossblood.org.
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