A candle in a lantern burning in the evening.

In summer, as the days get longer and the sun decides to shine a little brighter, there is no doubt that garden lighting is the perfect solution for a smooth outdoor transition from day to night. Unlike natural light, garden lighting can be artificial without compromising on style or ambience. Turf Express have collected a few outdoor lighting ideas which are cost effective and atmospheric. These lighting options could be used as a way to jazz up a summer garden party, or to simply enhance your enjoyment of a balmy summer night surrounded by those you love.

Battery powered fairy lights are always a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Purchasing a string of inexpensive battery powered fairy lights which can be utilised in lots of creative ways is a great way to add garden lighting into your summer nights. One way you could use the fairy lights is to position them in transparent mason jars and stand the jars on any decking or furniture readily available in the garden. Additionally, you could entangle the fairy lights into a large tin can and poke holes through the tin, offering a slightly dimmer yet still as ethereal alternative to the mason jar approach.

If you have a parasol in your garden, stringing battery powered fairy lights along the supporting spokes will instantly brighten any midnight society. This will create a subtle yet pretty response to the growing darkness, particularly if you choose to purchase multi-coloured fairy lights.

Another cheap alternative to garden lighting is to tie parcel string around old jam jars and repurpose them as candle holders. You can place small candles or tea lights inside the jars and secure them with gravel, which can be painted silver or gold as an extra special touch. The jam jars can then be dangled from various points in the garden, dotted around the area to create a flickering, elegant lighting effect. This look is perfect for a summer party as the sun dissolves into the night.

If you’re looking for a more permanent garden lighting feature, creating solar pathways is a great way to achieve this. Solar light fixtures, available at a low price at most DIY stores, can be bolted to a fence, to a garden post, or even staked into the grass surrounding a path to light up the garden all year round. In fact, if you currently have a solution similar to this in your garden, making the switch to solar powered bulbs is a cost effective way of saving electricity and helping the planet at the same time.