My apologies for the poor quality of this photo. It is my second miserable attempt at night time photography. You'd think with two professional photographers in the family, I'd have learned something from them and be able to do much better. May it's because I'm blonde?
LIGHTING UP THE GARDENS
On a summer’s evening, we enjoy sitting by the firepit in our back garden, talking quietly or listening to the night sounds of the village. The gardens are invisible in the dark, their fragrance the only hint of their existence. What a shame we cannot enjoy them at night. Or can we? Of course we can and it needn’t cost a lot of money! Grab those outdoor mini lights from the basement or attic. You are about to find a new use for them.
Our water garden is surrounded by rocks and plants and pots of plants. Were it not for the faint trickle of water and the vocalizing of the resident frogs, in the dark, we would not even know the garden was there. We illuminated the water garden with a string of mini lights (plugged into a GFI outlet) wound under, over, and between the plants and rocks, being careful to hide or disguise the wire. A few tealight holders hidden in the flower pots and lanterns on hooks complete the lighting project. The effect is a soft glow that bounces amazing shadows around the garden. It becomes almost magical and you half expect to see fairies flittering about.
Another string of mini lights is woven in different directions through the arbour leading to the herb garden. In the centre of the arbour I hung a candelier made from an old light fixture. The herb garden no longer hides in the night.
The other gardens have not been spared from my penchant for tealights. In the perennial garden, the birdbath reflects the orange flame of a candle floating on the water. Throughout the rest of the gardens, lanterns are hanging from varying heights. In amongst rocks are more tealights, some hidden in crevices, some behind the rocks. Container gardens, if there is room in the pot and no danger of damaging the plants, will also be accented at night with a tealight holder.
The patio is not immune from my tealight mania. On every table, in every potted plant tealights abound. Hanging from the roof is another candelier,. These all combine to lend a romantic atmosphere to an otherwise unspectacular area.
While tealights and lanterns do not provide bright light, the ambience they add to the night garden is incredible. The mini lights, while brighter, will when placed with the final effect in mind, offer the same subdued light. For additional lighting effects but more importantly to ward off mosquitoes, we light three citronella torches strategically placed around the perimeter of the seating area. Some claim the torches do not work for mosquito control, but our experience has been if we light them just before dusk, the number of mosquitoes that attempt to dine on us is greatly reduced.
NOTE: Since we are dealing with open flames, safety must always be considered ahead of esthetics. To that end the tealights are always placed in stable, non-flammable holders and away from combustible materials.
Our water garden is surrounded by rocks and plants and pots of plants. Were it not for the faint trickle of water and the vocalizing of the resident frogs, in the dark, we would not even know the garden was there. We illuminated the water garden with a string of mini lights (plugged into a GFI outlet) wound under, over, and between the plants and rocks, being careful to hide or disguise the wire. A few tealight holders hidden in the flower pots and lanterns on hooks complete the lighting project. The effect is a soft glow that bounces amazing shadows around the garden. It becomes almost magical and you half expect to see fairies flittering about.
Another string of mini lights is woven in different directions through the arbour leading to the herb garden. In the centre of the arbour I hung a candelier made from an old light fixture. The herb garden no longer hides in the night.
The other gardens have not been spared from my penchant for tealights. In the perennial garden, the birdbath reflects the orange flame of a candle floating on the water. Throughout the rest of the gardens, lanterns are hanging from varying heights. In amongst rocks are more tealights, some hidden in crevices, some behind the rocks. Container gardens, if there is room in the pot and no danger of damaging the plants, will also be accented at night with a tealight holder.
The patio is not immune from my tealight mania. On every table, in every potted plant tealights abound. Hanging from the roof is another candelier,. These all combine to lend a romantic atmosphere to an otherwise unspectacular area.
While tealights and lanterns do not provide bright light, the ambience they add to the night garden is incredible. The mini lights, while brighter, will when placed with the final effect in mind, offer the same subdued light. For additional lighting effects but more importantly to ward off mosquitoes, we light three citronella torches strategically placed around the perimeter of the seating area. Some claim the torches do not work for mosquito control, but our experience has been if we light them just before dusk, the number of mosquitoes that attempt to dine on us is greatly reduced.
NOTE: Since we are dealing with open flames, safety must always be considered ahead of esthetics. To that end the tealights are always placed in stable, non-flammable holders and away from combustible materials.
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