Tips for Decorating Bushes with Christmas Lights

Simple string lights bring your yard's bushes to life at night.

Simple string lights bring your yard's bushes to life at night.

Bushes adorned with Christmas lights illuminate the yard and give your home an overall festive look, whether you use them as season decor or a landscaping feature. Before you get started, always check your lights first by plugging them in, because one malfunctioning light can dim the rest of the string. Don’t install more than 1,400 watts on a circuit and use green extension cords and power stakes to reduce clutter.

Start With a Plan

Haphazard, messy Christmas light displays are the direct result of opening a box of lights and tossing them up without thought. Take several photos of your yard and use them to create a plan regarding which bushes to decorate and which to leave empty. For example, if you have several bushes along your driveway, in front of your home and in the center of your yard, covering everything may be overwhelming, yet lighting the perimeter bushes and one larger shrub in the center is often just enough. Before you purchase lights, measure the bushes, both the height and the widest point, to determine how many light strings you'll need to complete your design.

The Best Lights for Bushes

Christmas lights come in all shapes and sizes, but not all of them work for bushes. Net lights and mini-light strings provide overall illumination, making them ideal for most bushes. Avoid large globe and bulb lights unless you’re decorating a very large bush. Even then, opt for strings of lights where the globe or bubble is spaced farther apart on the wire. This creates a better balance of size and makes it less likely that you’ll overwhelm the bush. Icicle lights tend to get lost in bushes and work best as an option for the eaves of your home.

Laying the Lights

When working with string lights, lay them in an “S” or zigzag motion, working from the top down, for a full, nonlinear look. Nestle the lights far enough into the bush so that they rest comfortably on the branches, yet not so far back that they get lost beneath the foliage. For thicker bushes, start with one set of lights further back and another in front of the first set for complete illumination. When installing a net light, take the time to pull branches and leaves through the holes in the net to set the lights a bit further back into the bush. This creates a more natural effect.

Framing the Bushes

Arrange lights or decorations around the bushes so that they’re still festive during the day, and to create a ground-effect when lit up at night. When you just light the bushes, they can appear to be floating in the yard, which isn’t always the desired effect. For basic landscaping year-round, install ground lights along the perimeter of the bushes or along the outside of the garden bed. Seasonal decor choices such as lit candy canes, mini reindeer or LED outdoor candles can balance the lights on the bushes as well as tie into your overall Christmas yard theme.

Photo Credits

  • Images
Suggest a Correction