If there's one headline you will never see in the newspaper it would be, "MAN BLINDED BY SOLAR GARDEN LIGHTS". Why? Because they are so dim and pathetic at providing the result they're meant to achieve. But then maybe our expectations of these little garden wonders have been a tad too high? Maybe, we're comparing 'apples' and 'oranges' and become disappointed because our 'orange' doesn't seem to match the expected 'apple' - so to speak.

Garden lighting, for most gardeners, has been the 'icing on the cake' rather than the cake itself. Unless you've started your garden with the intention to include illuminating your plants, walkways and garden hazards it's probably an afterthought that's more dream than thought. And once a garden is established it's not an easy task digging trenches for electrical cable trying not to disturb tree roots and navigating your way through garden beds.

Which is why solar lights became an option for you. They didn't require cords - or if they did, they didn't need to be interred at the same depth as a corpse - plus they could be positioned anywhere in your garden with a minimum amount of fuss. And, you didn't need an electrician to install them.

As night fell, you waited expectantly for these garden lights to shine out and illuminate your garden as though you had reversed the effects of day and night. Instead, you found these lights to almost be as useless in the garden as gnomes. The brightness emanating from them would struggle to compete with a candle during dusk and certainly wasn't the shining force you had imagined.

What did you expect? A million candle-power beam that kept the neighbours up at night?

In the cold, hard, light of day - when your solar lights are renewing their energy for the 'big' night ahead - it seems that these were never meant to compare with their hard-wired counterparts. And while they may struggle to provide a great deal of illumination they still do have a purpose - as focal points or leading lights along your garden paths.

And, there are 'solar lights' and there are 'SOLAR LIGHTS'. The technology is increasing rapidly and new products are being introduced to the market with far better output than they did years ago. Plus, they're getting cheaper. But it pays to know what to look for when considering whether these lighting instruments will work in your garden.

Buying tips for solar garden lights

1. Light Strength - this is measured in mcd's (Millicandela) which is the rating used to assess the brightness of LED's. The higher the number, the brighter it is.
2. Cords or Cordless - if your solar lights come with cords it's usually because they share a power source. This is produced as a stand complete with a photoresistor, rechargeable batteries and wiring to power up these lights. However, if you're sharing the power source between a few lights then expect that they won't be as bright as those which have their own power source - but they should be cheaper.

   Plus, cords in garden beds are never a great idea anyway. It doesn't take much to forget they are there and thrust a garden spade onto them rendering them useless.

3. Sturdy - consider that your solar lights will be in your garden as often as your plants and will need to weather all conditions that prevail in your climate. Check that the materials are robust and won't break after the first cold-snap or heat-wave.
4. Be realistic - these lights will never compare with their fixed peers so when they claim to illuminate a focal point within your garden "just like electrical lighting", allow common sense to prevail. Technology in solar illumination hasn't achieved those results yet and I'm sure it will be decades before they can find more efficient ways to make these work.

They are a great addition to any garden provided you understand their limitations.