MASTER GARDENERS: Imaginative lighting creates magical, romantic garden experience

By CAROL SIDDALL Master Gardener

Have you ever tried lights in your garden? This would be a fun thing to think about during our winter months when the garden is not requiring our attention. I use lights in my garden, and it gives a magical feeling to my garden at night. I have a chandelier that is on a timer over my water feature. It gives me a feeling of comfort to look out and see my garden in a different light.

P. Allen Smith says to not go overboard with your lighting. He says you want to create a safe, soothing, and subtly lit atmosphere. You don’t want to have so many lights that you feel it is still daylight out.

We use our outdoor holiday lights all year long in our garden. They can light arbors or circle your gazebo or patio. Maybe you have a tree that would stand out if it had lights on it. Solar lamps placed in the ground add special effects in the garden also. I have two old screen doors that my hubby put together that I use on our porch that have a garland of lights and ribbon on it. It is comforting to come home at night and see the lights on. (They are on a timer also.)

Try the LED candles that flicker like candles on your patio tables. There is nothing like the glimmer of candlelight to add some romance to an outdoor area. Using long lasting battery LED lights will help out where there might not be electricity available.

If you have a blank wall in your outdoor sitting area, add lights to this area to create a focal point at night. You will enjoy the patterns that are created when the light plays off the background. If you have a trellis in this area, lights on that would add interesting patterns on your wall.

Think about it and see if you can light up your garden at night! You will enjoy it.