Put some bulbs in your borders

Turn your garden into a glittering winter wonderland with some festive lighting

NOWADAYS it’s not enough to have a Christmas tree and fairy lights indoors. Garden lovers like to extend the festive cheer outside, particularly around the front door and out on the patio.

It doesn’t have to be big or garish – in fact the current trend is for rather more sophisticated festive outdoor decor.

What you’re aiming for is something that you can live with between now and New Year, which will make your garden sparkle but won’t send your electricity bill into orbit.

LIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

IF buying electric lights, check the small print on the packaging to make sure they are safe for outdoor use.

Low-voltage electric lights use less power than traditional kinds and halogen lights less still, but both must be close to a power point.

They need to be plugged into an indoor socket or a special waterproof outdoor one installed by an electrician.

Use a timer switch to save even more power. Solar-powered lights can be used where their panels receive direct light during the day. These recharge the battery and should still produce enough power even if the sun doesn’t shine.

This makes them ideal for temporary Christmas displays, because they can be used in places without a handy power supply.

They usually come on at dusk and turn themselves off later, but you can switch them off when you don’t want them.

TRANSFORM A TREE

If you have a fair-sized tree standing in the lawn, drape it with fairy lights.

It doesn’t have to be a conventional conical conifer – birch, fruit trees, upright yew or any weeping trees look good too.

Plain white or blue lights that twinkle are a popular alternative to traditional multicolours.

In a very small garden, or outside the front door, the same technique can be used to decorate your pot plants.

RISE AND SHINE

DRAPING strings of fairy lights or a net of tiny white pinprick lights over a trellis or pergola looks good for the festive season.

The same can be done to the front of a garden room or summerhouse

– and a single, weak, warmorange light left on inside makes it look even more inviting.

Alternatively, outline the edges of the roof with a single string of lights with sub-strings of what look like icicles hanging from them. You could also stand an illuminated willow sculpture on the lawn somewhere, so that it shows up from inside the house.

PRETTY UP YOUR PATIO

LIGHT up a free-standing outdoor Christmas tree as the centrepiece to a patio display and outline the walls with strings of matching fairy lights. This will create a magical grotto effect that will delight children, without looking too over the top for adults.

Place lanterns containing tea lights or artificial batteryoperated candles on tables.

Alternatively suspend them from disused hanging basket brackets for a glittering display you can appreciate from the warmth of your living room.

WINTER WONDERLAND

IF you want a traditional look, then go for lanterns with lots of berries and greenery. Group tubs of wintry plants such as winter-flowering mahonia, variegated holly and Viburnum tinus in pots on the patio, and make a big wreath of conifer foliage and fir cones for the front door.

As a final touch, you might like to add an outdoor Christmas tree complete with candleeffect fairy lights in the porch or on the doorstep outside.

Shining example: Set the tone for your festivities