DIY lights a bright idea for your garden this summer…

IT’S cheap, simple and so admiringly subtle that you’ll have all the neighbours following suit in no time. We all appreciate endless summer evenings when it never fully darkens and nothing enhances this kind of atmosphere quite like soft lighting.

The dwindling light of a summer’s evening can be enhanced spectacularly by the decorative lights you have in your garden. Depending on where you shop solar lights are inexpensive and yet these subtle little conveyors of light can bedazzle even the most cynical of visitors to your garden on a summer’s night!

The secret is not to buy solar lights and just plonk them in the middle of the garden. Instead, place them strategically in places where they will make the most impact. For example, why not place them along garden pathways, driveways, walkways, flower and vegetable beds? Many people tend to locate garden lights where they think they are best suited during daylight hours. But by surveying your garden at night, I bet you’ll discover areas that can be lit up so beautifully that you never even thought possible.

The secret is to locate the lights in a mapping formation around focal points in the garden which will make them stand out at night. Another cost-effective trick is to use empty glass jars. Simply work a piece of wire around the rim of the jar, ending with a loop that can be hung on the branch of a tree. Pop a nightlight into the jar and you have a beautiful light. The more jars you accumulate, the more attractive the spectacle. Take note of places in your garden where the addition of solar lights will help extend those wonderful summer evenings.