The met office has yet again forecast a barbeque summer, not sure how much stock we have in their metrological equipment, but we plan to remain optimistic and plan like we are going to have a hot one! And of course with a hot summer comes outdoor dining, but this year we don't just want to sit on white plastic chairs we want an garden dining event that will rival the indoors. This means a high quality table and chairs and of course the correct lighting.

Daylight toTwilight - Garden Solar Lights to The Trick
If like us you like to sit round the table nursing your drink until the sun goes down you will need something other than just the sun for lighting. The range of lights that you can have in your garden has progressed greatly from days of the tricky electrics that had your dad one eye on his food one eye on the weather lest you turn your patio into an electrical pool of death. The best area of lighting that has progressed significantly is solar lighting, a great money saving way of lighting your garden providing there is lots of sun of course.

With a good amount of sunlight during the day the lights will get fully charged and will keep going on into the evening and you can buy different forms it used to be that the only form of solar lighting that was available was the kind that you stuck into the ground to mark out the edge of paths or ponds lest your guests take an unexpected dip. However, the belle of the ball is now a fully functional solar light, yes we are talking about fairy lights. Everyone adores a set of fairy lights at a party they give off a small amount of light which creates a mood and makes everyone look good, definitely a bonus. In the garden you can wrap them around trees and chairs put them in large glass bowls and create your own lighting effect and you don't have to concern yourself about setting the garden a blaze because complete with LED lights they are really safe. LED lights are great for this kind of thing because the bulb is so low voltage that they won't get hot and pose a potential fire risk. They come in a range of colours so you can even turn designer and make your own lighting scheme.

Solar lighting now comes in the form of solar powered jars which are perfect for use on dining tables because they produce a soft but effective light that will give the table a soft lighting effect. They are charged in the same way as all solar lighting and can simply be put in the garden all day before the party and then they can be put on the table fully charged ready for when the sun goes down. Again these are available in many different colours, so you can match your lighting to your colour scheme.

Barbeque and Stake
No that's not a typo and it's definitely not some new party idea taking over the country, instead we are talking about the good old solar lights that you can stake in the ground to either highlight objects for their attractiveness or to stop people damaging themselves on it.

If you don't want to stake light into you grass but would like some individual lights placed about you can now get clear bricks which have bright LED lights in them. They are solar powered so you don't have to concern yourself about batteries or complicated leads wired up to them in order to get them to be lit. They are simply charged by the sun during the day and they come automatically at night time which is another great bonus of the solar light, not needing to worry about turning them on and off.

Oh and we forgot to mention that solar lights are good for the environment which is something that most people are aiming for these days since we all know that the planet is not in good shape every little helps. What are you waiting get yourself ready for the barbeque summer and make the most of your garden this year!