Do you love spending time in your garden during the day but want to be able to enjoy this space once the sun sets? Do you hate looking outside your window and just seeing an expanse of darkness? You don’t have to miss out on enjoying your outdoor space 24/7. Bring your garden to life after the sun goes down with garden lighting.

Illuminating your garden creates a charming ambience that you can enjoy into the early hours of the morning. But only when it’s done right. Randomly adding a light here and there isn’t going to create the look or feel you’re hoping for. To create your own wonderland, your garden lighting needs to be properly planned to highlight the main features in your garden. But designing your lighting doesn’t just focus on making your garden aesthetically pleasing, it also makes your garden safe and practical to use after dark.

The lighting throughout your garden should flow and compliment itself. But lighting can also be used to create zones in your garden. For example, you can create a cosy living room feel on your patio, an elegant lawn area highlighting features like statues or a romantic hideaway in the corner of your garden.

This outdoor lighting guide covers everything you need to know to create your dream garden.

Things to Consider

But where do you start? Firstly, you need to figure out what you want and what is practical in your garden. Then we can look at how best to brighten the different areas of your outdoor space.

Power

The first thing you need to consider is what power sources you are going to use for your garden lights. Wall lights and patio lights could be powered by the mains power from your house without much hassle. However, if you’re going to be using your mains power to illuminate the lights throughout your garden, you may need an electrician to wire your garden and input garden power sockets.

If you don’t want to wire your garden, there are other options. Garden lights can also be battery powered or solar powered (as long as they receive direct sunlight). Not only is this a cheaper option with less set up, it also gives you the flexibility to move your lights around if you fancy a change.

Lighting Types

Different types of lights will create a different atmosphere and different effects in your outdoor space. From spotlights and wall washer lights which highlight the colours and textures of the feature or wall, to floor lamps, hidden LED lighting strips and overhead lanterns which create a cosy outdoor living room feel.

Design

When designing your garden lighting, the effects of shadows are just as important as the effects of the light itself. Lights encased in different materials and with different designs cast different shadows and add a different character to your space. For example, Moroccan style lanterns create a cosy feel from the pattern they cast with their shadow.

Konstsmide 10 Copper LED Moroccan Metal Cylinder Lights-Warm White 90cm

Colours

Different coloured lighting stirs up different emotions and encourages different behaviour. Using coloured lights in blues, greens and purples creates drama in your garden which can be ideal for halloween garden parties. However, for everyday lighting we recommend using softer lights ranging from warm white to golden yellow. This creates a charming cosy feel to your garden, encouraging your guests to stick around and relax with a drink. It also creates the ideal environment for you to snuggle up with a good book, enjoy a relaxed family dinner and feel at home in your garden.

Level of Lighting

Just like casting shadows is important, a crucial part of your garden lighting design is areas of darkness as well as areas of light. This creates depth and avoids creating an unsightly glare. Adopting a quality over quantity approach with your lights means ensuring the lights throughout your garden complement each other rather than competing or overpowering each other.

Although less is more when it comes to lighting, using repetition throughout your garden will be appealing to the eye and will take your gaze on a journey through your garden. However, it’s important that the repetition of your lights are spread out so as not to clutter your garden.

Patio Lighting

Lighting on your patio is essential for you to be able to use the space. Whether your patio or decking is where you like to relax with a book on your garden sofa, share an al-fresco meal at your dining set or socialise with friends at your garden bar, you can’t enjoy any of this once the sun sets if you have lights.

Creating a warm and welcoming space for you and your loved ones can be done with a variety of types of lights:

Spotlights - One way to light up your patio is to frame your space with ground spotlights along the edge of your patio or decking. If you opt for ground spotlights, ensure that they have covers so the light doesn’t shine directly into your eyes.

Konstsmide 7967 High Power LED Ground Spotlight

Bollard lights - Similar to spotlights, bollard (or post) lights can be installed along the edge of your patio to create a warm glow. These lights also need to avoid shining direct light into your eyes.

Palermo 451-752 Konstsmide Outdoor Garden Light

Strip lights - Create a nice glow for relaxing evenings and social gatherings with LED strip lights hidden under tables, chairs and benches.

Overhead lights - If you have some kind of covering over your patio or decking like a wooden frame, pergola, tree branch or even a parasol, you can create a cute area by putting up hanging lights like festoon lights, fairy lights or lanterns. Some parasols come with inbuilt lights.

Lamps - Just like you would place a lamp next to the armchair in your living room, garden lamps can create the perfect level of light around your patio seats. But you need to ensure your lamp is made for outdoor use.

Konstsmide 450-300 Lucca Outdoor Light with Opal Shade

Flames - Create a warm atmosphere on your patio with a fire pit or chiminea. If you would prefer a smaller flame, you could place candles around your patio in candle post lamps.

Florenity Grigio Candle Lamp

Safety Lighting

Not only does illuminating your garden make a midnight stroll through your garden a beautiful experience, but it also makes it safe. Whether you need to light up your garden steps or your garden path, our safety lighting designs will have you walking with ease.

Stairs

One of the most important places for garden lights is outdoor steps. Stairs can be lit up from different angles but the most important thing is that the lighting is even, making each step clearly visible. It’s also important for your stair lights to not shine directly into people's eyes, impairing their vision as they go down (or up) the stairs.

The two designs we recommend for lighting your stairs are spotlights sending wide beams of light from the side of each step or LED strip lights positioned under each step. Both of these will help to keep you and your loved ones safe while also looking elegant in your garden.

Paths

Unlike stairs, your garden paths don’t need as much illumination. Bollards or post lights emitting a soft glow along the edge of your garden path will provide enough light to make your path safe. Another option is to spotlight the plants along your path which will indirectly light up the path (or use classy illuminated planters), creating a magical scene.

Konstsmide 7620-000 Amalfi Spotlight Set

Highlighting Features

Highlighting features in your garden with the right lighting creates a beautiful focal point. Whether you highlight a water feature, statue or plants, your gaze will be drawn through your garden to your beautiful lit up feature.

Water Features

Adding light to your water fountain, pond or pool highlights the blissful movement of the water (as well as ensuring nobody falls in the water). This calm can be achieved by placing a waterproof spotlight behind the flow of a waterfall or by using a water feature with integrated lights.

Another option is to highlight the edge of your pond, allowing the light to reflect and dance in the water. This can be done with post lights or shaped lights (like these dragonfly lights) However, we don’t recommend placing lights at the bottom of your pond or water feature as this can highlight unwanted weeds.

Westbury Slate Springs Rock Water Course Water Feature

Statues

If you have statues in your garden that you’d like to highlight, you need to ensure you create the right effect with the right lighting. Using the wrong lighting can ruin the charm and character of a statue.

If you want to show off the texture and detail of your statue, we recommend using uplighting or cross lighting with multiple spotlights. This will make your statue the centre of attention and show it off in all its glory.

On the other hand, if the charm of your statue is in its shape, use a light behind your statue to create a silhouette or use a spotlight to cast a shadow across your wall, lawn or hedge. This lighting won’t show the intricate details of your statue but the lighting effect on the statue shape will be the centre of attention.

Plants

Similar to statues, trees and large plants can be lit up by uplights and cross lights to highlight the plant’s texture. Uplighting a tree with a spotlight focused on the tree trunk highlights its height, making your garden beautiful on multiple levels. Uplighting a tree can also be done with a wide beam spotlight which creates a beautiful glow in the tree foliage.

These spotlights are available as ground spikes or ground level lights which face upwards onto the tree. Deciding which type of spotlights are best for you depends on whether you want to partially bury your lights or just stick a spike in the ground. Whichever you choose, both create a similar effect on your plant.

Konstsmide 7963 Monza Spot Light Set LED

The effect of a warm glow in the branches and foliage of your tree and plant can also be created by putting lights directly in the plants branches and foliage. Festoon lights and fairy lights are ideal for creating this effect due to their warm glow and the soft light they create.

Konstsmide 364 LED Amber Twinkling Fairy Light Set

Another option for lighting plants is to illuminate them from above, creating a moonlight effect. For flower beds and plants near a wall, downward wall lights can be used. These can be placed at different heights on your wall to shed light on different height plants.

Konstsmide 7326-320 Modern Torino Large Outdoor Wall Lamp Light

Although flower beds can be lit up by wall lights, direct lights can be too harsh for delicate flowers. Instead, stake lights can be scattered throughout the flowers to create a beautiful light glow. You can even add extra character to your flower beds by blending in shape lights like butterfly lights or hanging magical lantern stakes.

Konstsmide 7636-000 Assissi Hanging Solar Light

Lawn Lighting

If your lawn is dotted with trees or flower beds that are lit up, they may provide enough light to create a beautiful landscape. But if you think your lawn needs something extra or you don’t have any other lighting dotted around, there are two lighting options that we recommend.

Our first recommended option for lawn lighting can be used whether your lawn already has areas of lighting or not. Scattering individual low level lights that emit a soft glow (like Mushroom lights) across your lawn can create a magical ambience in your garden. Low level lights that emit a pattern of light and shadow across your lawn could also be placed in the darker areas of your lawn. For example, Moroccan style lanterns (similar to Moroccan style fairy lights) can add a charming character to your lawn.

The second option that we recommend for open areas (like lawns without trees, flowerbeds or other lighting) is a broad sweeping light. The best lighting for this is broad beam spotlights fitted along your lawn edge or the edge of your decking. These cast a warm wave of light that flows across your lawn and fades into the darkness.

Driveway Lighting

Finally, no garden lighting design is complete without also lighting up the front of your house. The two aspects to lighting up your driveway is to welcome you and your visitors into your home and as a security measure to deter intruders. However, getting the right level of lighting to be both welcoming and provide security can be difficult.

For security, motion sensor lights work well to deter intruders. However, having a large wash of light that turns on when someone approaches your house can drown out any other warm welcoming lights leading up your driveway. To overcome this we recommend using motion sensor lights that don’t create a large bright pool of light but instead create a warm glow in a smaller area. It’s important to ensure these lights aren’t going to overpower any of your other lights.

If you have a large driveway, this could be achieved by having motion sensor lights towards the entrance of your driveway (although make sure they won’t be activated by passers by on the street). Your warm welcoming lights could then be further up your drive around the entrance to your house.

To create a welcoming atmosphere further up your driveway and towards your front door, warm white and yellow lights should be used. These could be bollards or street lamp style lights to light your drive or walkways. However, spread these lights sparingly along your drive instead of creating a runway-feel by placing them too regularly. Another option is, like in your back garden, you could highlight the main features along your drive (like trees or statues) which will indirectly light the driveway.

However, if you have a smaller driveway, using a warmer, less-harsh motion sensor light (like a lantern style wall light) next to your front door might work best. This will ensure there is a welcoming feel for your guests but the motion sensor will help to deter intruders.

Konstsmide 7268 Modern Milano Outdoor Wall Light with Motion Sensor

Things to Remember

• Identify your power sources before you start planning your garden lighting.
• Think about how to make your garden safe as well as making it look beautiful.
• Consider the kind of atmosphere you want to create and choose the best colours and types of lights to achieve it.
• Don’t forget that lighting your front garden and driveway is just as important as lighting your back garden.

Whether you want to be able to enjoy your outdoor space once the sun has gone down, or whether you just want to admire your garden from the comfort of your living room, using this garden lighting guide will help you to make the most of your garden (however big or small).