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36 LC DBM Surrounded by History Above The backdrop of this seating area at a house located just outside of Rock- ford Park in Wilmington, Delaware, was constructed of brick from the original walls of a barn built in 1895 by stone- masons on property that was originally part of the Gibraltar Mansion, an estate that is listed in the Natural Register of Historic Places. According to Scott Berry, the owner of Evergreen Hardscaping, careful atten- tion had to be taken to not damage the brick and respect the history of the of the property. The extensive lighting setup features: 1 Classic niche LED 2 Classic Savannah deck light LEDs 2 Classic engineered wall light LEDs 2 Classic New Orleans area/ path light LEDs 2 Classic well light with well light grates 1 Classic MR-16 bullet light LED with a 24-degree medium angle beam spread. They are all hooked up with 12/2 land- scape lighting wire and powered with a 300-watt transformer. Extras include a digital timer and a Spider splice assembly junction box. B Before starting a project, a lighting land- scape contractor never knows what may need his or her artistic touch until survey - ing the grounds. There can be statues and other pieces of art, antique items, elaborate structures and more. Jerry McKay of McKay Landscape Light - ing has seen and tackled a number of dis- tinctive items in his career. He remembers one being a metal sculpture in the shape of a heart. "The only way we could do it was to attach small lights to it so that the shape would show up at night," he says. Another heart-shaped object was a 400-square-foot rose garden inside a secret garden that the owners could view from their second story master bedroom balcony. As McKay recalls, "We hid two poles behind two tall junipers and had a total of four lights and different beams spreads highlighting the exact shape of the garden. The client was ecstatic." As for advice on these types of chal - lenges, McKay suggests to first ask the client if it would be beneficial to them to have it lighted - if it is something they care for. And analyze if lighting would work well with a given object, as some that do not have a lot of mass are hard to satisfactorily light. Also consider its purpose. "A unique play area that is in a dark corner might be best served to be on a switch," McKay advises. "That way if the kids wanted to use it, the switch would al - low it to be lighted. Every other night of the year it could remain dark as to not take away from the landscape." Here are more examples with the so - lutions that lighting professionals came up with. Uncommon , The the o rnate the o dd, Lighting Special Elements by Mike Dahl, LC/DBM