Up Close with Janet Lennox Moyer

Up Close with Janet Lennox Moyer

By Randy Reid

Janet Lennox Moyer, the legend of landscape lighting, took some time to tell me about her story, and she is nothing short of amazing. When Janet was a teaching assistant for a lighting class at Michigan State University, she visited the General Electric Lighting Institute and asked if she could have a job once she graduated the following year… and that’s how Janet began in the lighting industry. Her first job was teaching kitchen lighting in Nela Park, and within nine months, she was explaining interior and landscape lighting. During one class, a young Jim Benya, sitting in the back of the room, was captivated by her knowledge. He helped her get an interview with the notable Steve Squillace at Hinchman & Grylls in Detroit. Her first project was assisting on the design of the Defense Intelligence Agency with interior lighting.

One of her early experiences in landscape lighting was at the Detroit Civic Center, working alongside Isamu Noguchi, one of the most critically acclaimed sculptors of the twentieth century. This ultimately launched her into her impressive landscaping career.

An early unique design concept that Janet has now made famous is the installation of lights within trees. Janet’s initial foray began in Piedmont, California, in 1984. When lighting a front yard for a client, Janet said that “If I didn’t put lights in the tree, you wouldn't get the whole feeling of the space.” Using MR16, which was still very new at the time, she pioneered creating a new form of landscape lighting.

Her book "The Landscape Lighting Book," now in three editions, is essential for landscape lighters. The first edition, published in 1992, catapulted Janet into being a legendary landscape lighter. She knew she had made it when, in Japan, people asked her about the book—before it was published. When the book came out, her career soared exponentially.

You may recognize Janet from Jan and Brooke, Luminae. When Janet needed a partner to manage her workload, she reached out to Brooke Silber from Domingo Gonzales Associates. Brooke had been a student when Jan taught at RPI. Over time, Brooke wanted to move on to larger projects, and the company dissolved in 2018. However, when working on projects local to New York and Long Island, Brooke and Janet still collaborate.

Janet went kicking and screaming into incorporating LED into her designs and admits it’s not her favorite. That being said, she believes that LEDs give her tools she did not have before. She explained, “LED color intensifies the vibrancy of plant material, and enriches the final project.” She finds that she can use a fixture with integral dimming to get exactly the right brightness and focus of the fixture, taking less time to install. She continued, “With the LED wattage being adjustable, there is no longer a need to open a fixture and change lamps during installation.”

Photo credit: George Gruel

Janet uses a variety of manufacturers in her specifications, but one of her favorites is HK Lighting. Primarily, she will specify 3000K for plant material and feels strongly that plants have their own color, so there’s no reason to use colored lighting on them. It is interesting to note that almost all of the luminaires she specifies are from ½ watt to 7 watts, so the amount of light doesn’t upset animals and birds, and certainly doesn’t affect the dark sky. She is not a fan or solar fixtures, as they are too erratic.

To continue admiring all that Janet has accomplished, we can’t forget that she founded the International Landscape Lighting Institute. She managed the foundation from 2006 to 2018, but now the mentors she’s trained for years oversee the organization. Currently they offer intensive courses, with the most recent in February 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. Besides the five-day intense learning and creating they do during the course, participants also learn how to present designs to clients, which is undoubtedly an often-overlooked part of lighting design.

A huge trend that Janet began was “shore scraping.” While designing for the Chicago Botanical Garden, she was challenged to light an island, consisting of several acres of just grass, and there was no way to connect the left and right areas of trees to the grass island. Working closely with UL and Chicago inspectors, she installed light fixtures in the lake to shine back onto the shore at grazing angles to create lots of texture. With the fixtures sitting just above the water line, Janet was able to create a captivatingly lit space.

Photo credit: George Gruel

Janet gave me three major tips about landscape lighting, with the first tip beginning with downlight. Janet believes that downlighting is natural, as we’re used to downlighting from the sun, and that we get a better sense of the space and feel comfortable with that space when downlighting is involved. In addition, there are less fixtures involved, and the design lasts longer because there are no animals, plant growth, or human interaction to alter the luminaire placement. Secondly, she advises that when lighting a tree with downlighting, uplighting should also be implemented. By doing so, any odd shadows that ruin the beauty are avoided and fullness is achieved. Last, and arguably one of the most important tips she gives, is to focus the lights at night. She explained, “As clever as you may be with design and placement, you will not create the best effect unless you are there at night. Sometimes an inch of a tilt makes a huge difference.”

Janet’s newest book "The Art of Landscape Lighting" was just published and is less of a handbook and much more of an inspirational book. With over 800 full color photographs of projects and tips, it explains the true art of landscape lighting. She addresses the challenges she faced in lighting, and how she met them. In addition, Janet talks about how her knowledge grew through experience, and how when she was starting out it was all trial and error. She created this book for others as an inspiration by looking at her growth and her work. It can be purchased on Amazon for $47.36 for Kindle, or $58.80 for paperback. A hardback copy, $128.00, is also available and worth the additional cost.

Janet remains a legend in the landscape lighting field, and her eccentric and joyful energy matches the impressive work she creates. With over 40 years in the field, Janet’s knowledge is impressive and extensive. I was so honored to hear about her story and her genuine passion for the field of landscape lighting. ■