Gardening tips, gardening info and heaps of ideas to help gardeners of all experience get more out of their hobby and out of their gardens.
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.
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.
They are a great addition to any garden provided you understand their limitations.
Comments
This is timely for me since I just got an email this evening from someone in our neighborhood wanting to put these lights in our median at the entrance. I'm wondering now if it will really help much.
Posted by: Robin | May 14, 2008 12:04 PM
Robin - I guess it depends on the purpose of them being in your median. If they are there just to illuminate a path they will be very useful. If they are there to shine on something and make it visible or highlighted, they are next to useless.
Posted by: Stuart | May 14, 2008 1:21 PM
I couldn't agree more! My property has hardwired outdoor lighting, but as our gardens/yards have evolved, so have our lighting needs. The idea of solar lighting is appealing on many levels...environmentally and on a practical level since we have a good size yard and running power every where isn't always easy, practical ---or in the budget! Right now we have some solar lights--the white-light ones with a rechargeable backup battery and they work pretty well. They're brighter (and were more expensive) than the yellow-light ones tried previously. They do serve their purpose, which is to light the path way, but the disappointment is that they do not stay lighted very long (and I'm in sunny California). Probably won't buy any more until the technology improves.
Thanks for the interesting post!
Posted by: Lin | May 14, 2008 10:25 PM
Most of the solar lights I've seen in gardens are more ornamental than functional. And they do lend a great ambiance to just about any area. But you're right--they do little to cast light on a specific area. Your buyer's tips are good reminders.
Posted by: Nancy Bond | May 21, 2008 11:31 PM