Landscape Lighting in Toronto: What to Plan Before You Install

Good landscape lighting makes a house look finished at night, makes steps and paths safe, and gives you a garden you can actually use after dark. In Toronto it also has to survive freeze-thaw, snow and salt. Here is what to plan before anything goes in the ground.

Start with layers, not fixtures

• Façade: soft light washing the front of the house and its architecture.
• Trees and plantings: uplighting that gives the garden depth.
• Paths and steps: low, glare-free light where people walk.
• Entertaining areas: patios, pools and outdoor kitchens on their own dimmable zones.
• Security: brighter lighting on separate control, so it doesn't spoil the mood lighting.

Planning by layer avoids the most common mistake — a row of identical path lights and nothing else.

Fixtures that last through Toronto winters

Choose solid brass or copper fixtures and direct-burial cable rated for outdoor use. Cheaper aluminum and plastic fixtures crack, corrode and fade after a few seasons of freeze-thaw and road salt.

Power: plan it like an electrician

Most landscape lighting runs on low voltage from a transformer, but that transformer still needs proper power: a dedicated outdoor circuit, GFCI protection and weatherproof connections. Any new circuit or line-voltage wiring needs an ESA permit and inspection, and we handle both — 99% of our work passes ESA inspection the first time.

Control: lights that look after themselves

An astronomic timer turns lights on at dusk and off when you choose, adjusting through the seasons with no reprogramming. If you have Lutron in the house, your outdoor lighting can join the same system, so one keypad or one app scene sets the house and the garden together.

Plan it with the rest of the property

Landscape lighting is best planned at the same time as patios, pools, hot tubs, EV chargers and any panel work, so trenches and circuits are done once. That is why our site visits look at the whole property, not just the fixtures.