Do you light your garden at night?

Yes

Didn't originally because I wasn't prepared to use that much energy on something frivolous ... but that was back when Mains and PAR lights was the only option.

But with the advent of 3W 12V LED lights, then 33 lights is 100W and on a timer for a few hours after dusk - less in Summer - I've relented

I light the main central bit, which is what we see from the house



The topiary yews have uplighters, and hidden under, and behind them, "spots" pointing at the outer hedge. Then up the avenue beyond, to the Folly, I have Spots on each side, pointing at the other side, to illuminate hedge and path, and I ran a couple of extra 12V LED lights inside the Folly. All are white (can't remember what type of white ... but definitely not Beige nor Magnolia !!)

In December we clad the Topiary Yews with LED "Curtains" for the festive bit.

I bought a socking big 12V transformer and relatively thick wire to combat the voltage drop. I bought the first wire from the place I got the lights from and then discovered that wire is cheaper from people that just sell wire. Who would have thought it ... I'm pretty sure what I bought was Product Code 900034 "4.0mm² x 2Core Rubber Cable LINEAX/TITANEX"

H07 RN-F Cable | Rubber Cable | The Electric Cable Company (GB) Ltd

I sited the transformer "in the middle" so that the star-wired runs are shorter than "transformer at one end", and the number of devices on each wire is "modest", and thus reduce the risk that voltage drop along a single wire would become a problem.

I also have a couple of Laserworld Laser Projectors GS-60G (now discontinued I think). I just point them at the trees and it looks like the whole tree is studded with LED lights, without me having to climb the tree and install fairy-lights Looks something like this marketing image:

 

IO presume that is known as "The Long Walk",

 

I read somewhere that artificial light in the garden can be confusing for wildlife so have avoided it for that reason. There is a flood light and some other outside house lighting if I have to do something outside in the dark but I think its nice to be in the garden when the light depends on the natural sources like the moon and I think less artificial light means being able to see more stars on clear nights. Not tried the white flowers for navigation in the dark suggestion but there are a number of white and green variegated pittosporums that make good landmarks in the dark and they are probably a more persistent navigation aid than flowers.

 

Indeed it is

Long Walk and Folly

 

Well I was thinking more of Windsor Castle.
Yours is very grand looking.

 

We also have something like this.

 

I find the moon on a clear night more than adequate. If I need to see anything in particular LED headtorch works a treat.
A few prickly bushes tell you were you are on a moonless night.

 

My garden lighting is to extend the hours in the day when I can "enjoy the garden from the house" rather than "find where the blinking dog has gone" ... I do use a torch for that

 

There's a utilitarian light fitting on the back wall of the kitchen, useful for forays to the compost bin/ supervising the dog's bedtime loo break. Also a battery-operated camping lantern hanging in the shed, handy if I need something out of there or want to inspect the borders for snails to squash.

For atmosphere, I tried solar lights but found them shortlived and/ or underwhelming. So I now have a couple of dozen clear and white glass tea holders from charity shops. Those live in the shed but get brought out if I am entertaining - they look very pretty on the dwarf wall around the patio.

 

Gardens always look lovely with a full moon, but for those darker nights, we discovered these solar LED lights. We liked the simple clean design, resonable price and the fact they haven't stopped working since purchase 2 months ago - even through all the bad weather. The lights cast a subtle glow beneath various trees and bushes without turning the garden into Blackpool illuminations.

We also bought a more expensive solar LED string light for inside the greenhouse, but that failed after just 1 week (the solar panel was on the roof, not inside it).