I have a bit of a weakness for celebrity gardens that look impossibly expensive but turn out to have one surprisingly simple idea hiding behind all that glamor, and Jennifer Aniston’s yard more than fits the bill.
Whether you know her from Friends (of course you know her from Friends!) or The Morning Show, Jennifer is one of those stars who has long-held on a grip on us, inspiring everything from our hairstyles to our lunches (green goddess salad, anyone?). It stands to reason, then, that her gardening efforts would have just as much of an impact.
The actress has worked with designer Stephen Shadley to create an outdoor space that looks beautiful, both by day and night; however, it’s the garden lighting that has really caught my attention.
Jennifer Aniston’s Cozy Garden Lighting Trick
That’s right, folks; Jennifer Aniston has gifted us one of those cozy backyard ideas that just makes so much sense for fall, and it’s all hinged on her lighting.
How? Well, her trees are wrapped in warm white lights, with the strands winding around the trunks and into the lower branches, creating a soft glow that makes the whole garden feel rather magical.
Check it out:
Now, while I can’t promise that a few strings of lights will transform anyone’s backyard into Jennifer Aniston’s Bel Air estate, I can promise that this particular idea is much easier to steal than it looks. You don’t even need a huge garden, a Hollywood-sized budget or an entire team of designers! In fact, all it requires is a tree, some warm white lights and roughly $50.
The trick is to make the trees (or plants) themselves part of the lighting design. In this instance, LED Tree Trunk Wrap Lights like these from Wintergreen are wrapped around the trunks and carried into the lower branches, tracing the natural shape of the trees once the sun goes down. Elsewhere, smaller lights pick out areas closer to the ground.
So, if you’re tempted to recreate it, take a long hard look at your own yard, pick one tree (or any other particularly lovely feature), and get ready to help it become the star of the show.
Shop Garden Lighting:
The good news is that you don’t need to commission Stephen Shadley to get started; these LED Tree Trunk Wrap Lights from Wintergreen are currently around $46 and are designed specifically for wrapping around tree trunks.
They have 100 warm-white lights on brown wire, which means the wire should blend more naturally into the bark than something bright green or black. Just start at the base of a tree and work your way upwards, keeping the spacing relatively consistent as you wrap around the trunk. Once you’ve reached the lower branches, you can carry the lights out slightly to emphasise the tree’s natural shape.
There’s one temptation I’m going to urge you to resist here, and that’s buying approximately 47 boxes of garden lights and attempting to illuminate every available surface. Say it with me, people: you don’t need to cover every branch. In fact, I think leaving plenty of the tree in darkness is part of what makes Jennifer Aniston’s cozy garden lighting trick look so appealing.
No tree? No problem! You can use exactly the same principle on a smaller ornamental tree, a multi-stemmed shrub or even a pot in a large container. In fact, the same warm glow can be created by winding lights around a sturdy garden structure, pergola post or other feature you want to highlight.
The trick is to make the most of the darkness and create a warming glow, so, honestly, just choose the feature you most enjoy looking at from your patio or from inside the house. Then, make like Jennifer Aniston, wrap it with warm white lights and see what happens after dark.
You might just find that you don’t need anything else at all…
