With Autumn quickly descending upon us, many of us will be sad to lose the lighter evenings and the limited use of our outdoor spaces. That’s why garden lighting can be so effective. After all, when darkness arrives, we can’t see our gardens very well anymore. However, there are some simple and easy ways to extend the use of your external space meaning you can enjoy an evening drink on the patio for a little longer. The best part is that anyone can do these ideas, whether happy to spend, or on a budget. Read on for ideas of how to achieve a garden glow this weekend!
Fairy Lights
Not just for Christmas! Fairy lights can be used effectively to introduce a cute sparkly but subtle glow to key areas of your garden. They come in both mains-powered and solar varieties. They can be draped on bushes, behind vines, around pergolas or wrapped around trees. Fairy lights either come in strings or nets. Nets are best for a block of twinkly light such as on bushes or behind vines tethered to walls. Whilst string lights can be run along garden structures like pergolas, arbors or fences. However, there are no rules here! Put them wherever your heart desires.
Solar stake lights
Probably the easiest garden lighting option and done in a jiffy. Solar stake lights need no mains power and can be put literally anywhere. They work particularly well in pots or garden beds, or they can be used to light pathways. The ones with patterned plastic around the bulb produce lovely light patterns across the ground up to two metres away. If you’d like to light up your ColourFence at night, these can be strategically placed to up light your fence. Most supermarkets sell them these days for around £1 per light.
Festoon lights above patio or communal areas
For those who love a bit of drama in their spaces, festoon lights are perfect. Drape them over and around a pergola or between your property and another high point in the garden such as a tree. Festoon lights tend to give our more light than fairy lights so they are also perfect for lighting a seating area from above. Mains powered ones are best but you can buy solar ones, they’ll just give a softer glow.
Water feature solar lighting
Water reflects light wonderfully so if you have a pond, or even a small barrel pond, this is a perfect place to use solar lighting. This is particularly nice if you have a solar powered water feature. When darkness falls and the water stops running, your lights will come on instead. We found one on Amazon for just £15.99
So there we have it. A few simple ways to use garden lighting to add a nighttime glow to your outdoor space. Do let us know on Facebook if you tried any of these!
Until next week!
Jo @ ColourFence
