Gone are the days when outdoor and garden lighting choices were limited to a halogen floodlight screwed to the back wall above a kitchen window or perhaps a traditional lantern to the side of the front door to welcome visitors. Naturally there will always be a place for these practically placed security and welcome lights, but with the promise of warmer nights to come and attentions turning to late night outdoor entertaining, to barbecues and al fresco dining, it may be time to have a look at what is available in the the way of lighting for the garden and outdoors that's a little more adventurous.

For those on a budget simple spike lights driven into borders or the edge of the lawn can be used to direct light onto feature plants or trees or to illuminate and highlight an architecture feature. This is also a flexible lighting system that can be easily moved to provide for variety in lighting schemes from one night's entertaining to the next. 

A small number of fixed post or bollard lights around the edge of the garden, or along paths, can look very stylish and will give a medium level of soft, more generalised illumination in the garden without the over-powering, brightness of the ubiquitous 500W halogen floodlight.  These post lights come in a number of styles and finishes from the Victorian "gas-light" style to contemporary aluminium designs and in a variety of heights.

A line of ground lights can light up a path and lead the eye towards a feature. These can be level to the surface and simply pointing upwards or raised on swivelling and tilting mounts just above ground level to give a directional light.

For the energy conscious, inexpensive and very low powered solar lights are popular, and strings or nets of low-voltage lights along a fence, a wall or in a feature tree are not just for Christmas.