How to make the best of garden lighting

There is no doubt that most of us look forward to warmer weather, sunshine, and the gentle breezes that summer brings. Opening the windows and letting the fresh air in for the first time is a wonderful feeling after a long winter. Capture that feeling and spend as much time out of doors as possible with beautiful garden lighting.

Perfect for creating an outdoor living space that you can enjoy night after balmy night garden lighting also adds an important safety element.

Subtlety is the name of the game when you add lighting to your outdoor space. Bright, direct lights will wreck the mood. What you want is subtle, unobtrusive lighting that enhances your outdoor space and provides light to navigate stairs or paths with ease while providing soft ambient light.

To achieve this keep in mind functionality and ambiance.

After dark, you need lights simply to ensure you can move easily and safely around your garden, navigating steps or even cooking outside. You do not need bright flashing lights to achieve this. Rather than mark a path with lights along the length consider lighting up nearby shrubs or trees instead. The deflected light will cast adequate light for you to see where you are going but in a more pleasing way.

Create ambiance with lighting that has a purely aesthetic purpose. It is the type of lighting that can evoke an emotional response and bring your garden to life. Ambient lights can be used to highlight key features, such as a fountain, flowerbed or to draw attention to different areas of the garden inviting people to explore and uncover more, or simply provide light to sit and enjoy the night sky.

There are many different categories and subcategories of garden lights and we will go through each one with a brief explanation of how and where to use them.

Firstly, floodlights. We know we mentioned earlier about not using overly bright light that blind your guests but in some cases, floodlights are called for. For example, driveways or parking areas can be lit up for safety with directional beam spotlights. An outdoor play area such as a basketball hoop or tennis court can be extended playtime with floodlights. Also in the flood light family are motion sensor floodlights. Perfect for a parking area for example, the light will only come on when there is motion so the bright light won't be shining all night long for no reason. This type of lighting is also very good at deterring intruders.

Spotlights can also be used to highlight an architectural feature, fountain, or work of art. Easily adjustable to get the light where you want it, a spotlight is an easy way to show off some of the special features in your garden.

Uplights or downlights can be used along walkways, steps, and paths to lend atmosphere and light to navigate by.

Step lights are obviously useful on steps to light the treads and risers for safe navigation.

Garden lights can include stake lights, bollards, and downlights. They can be used to light up garden features of flowerbeds to give off a nice glow that is not harsh or overwhelming.

String lights come in a wide variety of styles and can be hung along a roofline to provide a glow from above; they can be wrapped around bushes or shrubs and even used in trees to create a magical effect.

There are also outdoor lamps and lanterns that are solar or battery operated to provide light right where you need it. Perfect for a tabletop, seating area, or entryway, lights of this nature add a welcoming look to a garden space.

Maximize your outdoor space with a combination of lighting from bollards and wall lights to recessed floor and decking lights. There is a wide variety of options available at Netlighting to create the outdoor area of your dreams.

Whether your garden is large or small it can benefit from the addition of garden lights. Host small gatherings, create a cozy spot for reading under the stars or light up an area around a fire pit for safety. It is all possible with the wide array of lighting options at www.netlighting.co.uk.

For a small garden space look at solar lights which don't require any installation or wiring to create the ambiance you want. There are wall-mounted solar lights as well as solar spike lights, solar lanterns, solar bollards as well as solar portable lights. Your outdoor area will glow with soft solar light allowing you to stretch your summer days into the night with ease.

For a large garden space, there are even more options. If there are large trees uplighting them can be a wonderful way to create a dramatic look that will cast light to see and navigate without blinding you and your guests. Light the garden path with bollards, remembering that subtlety is key here. A general rule of thumbs is to space them about 2 - 2.5 meters apart.

Place outdoor solar lanterns in the seating and dining area to create a welcoming space and use sconces, ceiling lights, or other wall lights to guide guests around the exterior of your home.

In any situation, a variety of lighting is best to create a lovely layered look that is bright enough for safety but low enough to let you enjoy the evening without being distracted by bright lights.