Solar lighting
Steve and Val test six lights you can use to highlight features in your garden at night
SALES of solar lights for use in the garden have gone stratospheric in the past 10 years. Since the early introductions of lights that barely stayed lit long enough to get through dusk into darkness, many of the newest ones stay lit until dawn.
The decorative range extends from single LEDs on strings that provide an attractive fairyland feel for the plants or under a parasol, to butterflies, flowers and other illuminated characters for a fun effect round the patio or across a shed.
On a more practical level, these lights work without the hassle of having wiring laid around the garden. There is little maintenance to do, although wiping the solar panel now and again helps it work more efficiently, and they are, to an extent, weather-proof.
This makes them ideal for more difficult outdoor areas, too, such as steps that are difficult to see at night. You might know where the steps are, but if you have visitors to the garden it can be helpful to have them illuminated to avoid accidents. Applying a solar downlighter to the adjacent wall means the steps can be lit during the evening without any need to set a timer or remember to turn them on. Motion-sensor lights are ideal for occasional use or where you do not want a light on all the time.
A solar uplight can also be used in a one-off situation where you want to highlight a single plant, whether for the stem or the foliage. Ones that resemble rocks will blend into the border, perhaps not seamlessly but pretty well. You have the option of moving the light to another plant when the season of interest changes. We found a light that can be angled to focus on exactly the right spot, so it could be adjusted to show the stem of a tree in winter, the blossom in spring and the leaves in summer and winter.
The lights tested are widely available and inexpensive. Some have batteries that can be replaced and others would have to be disposed of once the battery fails, although many manufacturers are now changing this.
■ Tip: to make your solar lights last longer, store them inside over the winter and remove the batteries. Clean the contacts, replace the batteries and clean the solar panel before putting them back outside.
Battery ratings explained
The term mAh stands for milliamp hours. It is a measure of the amount of energy a battery can store, so a 600 mAh battery can store more energy than the 400 mAh battery.