Outdoor & Landscape Lighting

Outdoor and landscape lighting is the layer that turns a yard, garden, or patio into an evening room. A real landscape lighting plan is more than a few path lights at the front walk — it layers down-lighting from tree canopies, up-lighting on architectural features, gentle wash on plant beds, dedicated task lighting at steps and grilling areas, and a separate security layer at entries and dark perimeter zones. Brand catalogs are how landscape designers and contractors spec these systems — full fixture libraries, voltage drop charts, transformer sizing tables, and the integrated control systems that tie everything to a phone or wall-mounted scene controller.

Outdoor Lighting Categories at a Glance

Designer-trade landscape systems — FX Luminaire, Vista Pro Outdoor Lighting, Coastal Source, Cast Lighting, Hadco, Lumiere, and Hinkley Landscape are the brands landscape architects spec for high-end residential and commercial properties. These are low-voltage (12V) systems with solid brass or copper fixtures, integrated LED engines (10-50,000-hour service life), and centralized 300W–1200W transformers with photocell + astronomic timer control. Catalogs in this category include full path-light, well-light, accent up-light, down-light, step-light, and hardscape-light families plus the voltage drop and transformer sizing tables you need to plan a system.

Mainstream outdoor decorative — Kichler Outdoor, Sea Gull Lighting, Maxim Outdoor, Quoizel Outdoor, and Westgate cover the wall-mounted, post-mounted, and pendant outdoor lighting category — the decorative fixtures that sit at front doors, garage walls, porches, and post-and-column entries. These brands publish UL Wet and UL Damp rated fixtures in dark sky-compliant configurations and a full range of finish options (oil-rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, weathered zinc, matte black).

Path, security, and DIY landscape — Malibu Lighting, Paradise Lighting (Sterno Home), and RAB Lighting cover the consumer-grade and DIY end of the landscape category — pre-packaged path light kits, low-voltage transformers with built-in timers, and the photocell-controlled wall packs and floodlights used for residential security. Most of these brands' catalogs also include solar-powered options and motion-activated security lighting.

String, festoon, and accent — Brightech, Enbrighten (Jasco), Sunthin, and Newpow are the brands that own the patio cafe-light, string-light, and festoon category — the warm-white shatter-resistant LED strings that wrap pergolas, fences, and umbrella poles. Catalogs in this category cover commercial-grade festoon systems, hanging Edison-bulb cafe lights, color-changing app-controlled strings, and the in-ground stake fixtures used to wash trees and architectural features.

What to Look For in an Outdoor Lighting Catalog

The most useful catalogs in this category spell out fixture material (solid brass and copper outlast aluminum and zinc by decades in coastal and freeze-thaw climates), voltage and wattage (low-voltage 12V systems with integrated LED engines are now standard for landscape; line-voltage 120V is reserved for security and wall-mount decorative), color temperature in Kelvin (2700K is the standard warm landscape color, 3000K is brighter and more architectural, 4000K+ reads cold and only belongs on security/commercial), UL rating (UL Damp for porches and covered installations, UL Wet for direct exposure, UL Listed for Salt Spray on coastal sites), and beam angle (10-15 degrees for accent up-lighting on trees and architecture, 30-60 degrees for path and wash lighting). For low-voltage landscape systems, the catalog should also include voltage drop tables (how far you can run 12-gauge cable before voltage falls below 10.5V) and transformer sizing charts (total wattage of all fixtures + 20% headroom).

Designing a Landscape Lighting Plan

A complete plan layers path lighting (12-18 inch bollards spaced 8-12 feet on center along walks), up-lighting (in-ground well lights aimed at trees, columns, and architectural facades at narrow 10-15 degree beams), down-lighting (fixtures mounted high in trees aimed downward to simulate moonlight on the ground), accent and wash (broad-beam fixtures washing plant beds, water features, and hardscape walls), step and deck lighting (small recessed fixtures in risers and post caps), and a separate security layer (motion-activated floods at side and rear entries, wall packs at garage doors, photocell-controlled wall sconces at front entries). Request catalogs from at least one designer-trade landscape brand (FX Luminaire, Vista Pro, Coastal Source, Cast, or Hinkley Landscape) plus one mainstream outdoor decorative brand (Kichler, Sea Gull, Maxim, or Quoizel) so you cover both the in-ground landscape system and the wall-mounted decorative fixtures that pair with it.

Free Outdoor & Landscape Lighting Catalogs by Mail

Designer-trade landscape lighting brands mail printed catalogs free to landscape architects, contractors, and serious residential buyers — FX Luminaire, Vista Pro, Coastal Source, Cast, Hinkley Landscape, and Kichler all publish 50-200 page brochures covering the full fixture library, voltage drop charts, and the integrated control systems. Mass-market and DIY brands (Malibu, Paradise, RAB, Brightech, Enbrighten) typically publish shorter digital-first catalogs but many still ship print on request. Request the brochure and flip through the digital edition while it's in transit — landscape lighting plans are easier to compare on paper, and the voltage drop tables you need for installation are easier to read in print.