Lighting tips for your Garden

Enjoy the late summer and autumnal evenings in beautiful surroundings by giving your garden a lighting make-over! Often over-looked in the garden, lighting is a very effective way of transforming your outdoor space, whatever the size, into a charming plot that will make you proud.

Beautiful Borders

Illuminate your borders to create a stunning lighting effect that you can enjoy all year round. The Fumagalli Mini Spiked Floodlight is perfect when positioned near to walls, hedges or fences – it features a spiked base for easy installation and a tilting head for flexible positioning.  Make sure that you position your lights with an equal distance apart and allow for at least one light per every two metres.  This type of lighting will give the illusion of height and space and so works perfectly for small gardens and courtyards.

Garden Pathways and drives

Create a grand entrance with lighting, whether you have a long sweeping drive or a small garden path.  By strategically placing lights, highlighting paths and driveways, you will give your space an inviting quality, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.  As the nights draw in extra lights will prove to be useful too and act as a safety measure.

There’s several looks you can go for depending on the style of your garden. In ground spotlights are effective for all types of spaces, for a contemporary look search for bollard lights in stainless steel or matt black with bold, sleek shapes.  For a more whimsical, traditional look, opt for classic lantern style lights that will bring vintage charm to your garden.

There’s a wealth of options available, you may also want to consider solar powered lights for easy installation.

Trees and Hedges

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden that has plenty of trees and shrubbery then why not really show it off by investing in some pretty string lighting? Twinkly fairy lights never go out of style and will provide a lovely atmosphere for entertaining friends and family.

Wrapping warm white lights around the trunk of a tree will look stunning while providing good light, while draping string lights over branches will give the illusion of twinkly stars.

To add a dash of colour try something like these multi colored lantern solar lights from LEDHut.co.uk.  No batteries or plugs are required, and you can simply hang and enjoy these fun lanterns, which are sure to bring the party to any outdoor event.

Patio and Decking

The place for socialising and alfresco dining in the garden, is of course the patio! Many people make this the focal point of their garden, and there’s a plethora of lighting opportunities for this space to help you achieve this.

Again, in-ground spotlights work perfectly for patios or decking, place them around the edge to give a feeling of space.  If you have steps up to this area you may want to consider step lights, which look fantastic and help to illuminate an otherwise dark area of the garden.

To make this entertaining space more intimate try placing smaller lighting effects on different levels, for example on walls, table tops or hung around a parasol.  Create a romantic ambience with LED candles and lanterns, they create a warm light and even flicker like the real thing but there’s no fear of them blowing out!

Wall lights

The popularity of patio heaters, fire pits and outdoor wood burners means that we are enjoying our gardens even when there’s a chill in the air. As the nights draw in you may require a more powerful lighting solution, such as a wall light.

Again you can choose from sleek and modern to retro and traditional styles.  Different shapes available include; globes, poles, panels, lanterns and discs – the choice is endless!

We love the Konstsmide Monza Outdoor Wall Effect Light  in anodised brass from John Lewis, this show-stopping light creates warm rays on your wall giving the impression of sunshine at night, simply stunning.

Whatever style you do decide to go with, make sure they are rust and erosion proof, as they’ll have to contend with the Great British weather for years to come.