Let there be lights
Shine on your craz y paving
STAY safe and stylish on gloomy winter nights with some clever outdoor lighting.
To illuminate steps or paving you can set small recessed lights in or mounted on a flanking wall. There are eyelid styles and frosted lenses for wider coverage at ground level.
Make sure each tread is directly lit, without being shadowed by the riser above, and that the light source is shielded so you are not blinded.
The coolest way to illuminate steps and the patio is with flexible and waterproof LED low- voltage light strips. You can get these in blue, green, red, white and colour changing, which are perfect for Christmas.
Use them to mark the strongest outlines of your garden, such as around the rim of raised beds.
LED lights are incredibly bright and cheap to run. They have a long life and are maintenance free because there are no filaments to break.
They do not get hot to the touch so are ideal for family gardens. Battery LEDS are also available for lighting areas where you have no power.
Party
For dramatic effect, put interesting trees and shrubs in the spotlight.
Use spotlights on spikes so they can be moved to create the best effects. Try positioning lights diagonally for wider coverage of the entire border.
Green bulbs are good f or illuminating plants in gloomy corners.
Make hedges and bushes twinkle for Christmas. Net lights, made of 100s of fairy lights, can be thrown over plants, used as curtains around a pergola or clipped on to trellis.
Use solar lights so when the sun goes down, the lights come on automatically and cost nothing to run.
Outdoor fairy lights have endless uses. They can turn a path into an enchanted walkway. For a party atmosphere, string fairy lights in tree branches for a starry canopy under which you can put tables for entertaining. Wrap lights around the tree from the base upwards. You may need multiple strings so use a ring connector so lights can be arranged in sequence and run up different branches.
Avoid draping new young trees. Large established ones are strong enough to hold up decorations.
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