17+ Outdoor Lighting Ideas for the Garden
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
It’s warming up outside and it’s time to head outside to enjoy the warm weather! Outdoor lighting is one of the best ways to brighten up your outdoor space and make it usable at night.
I’m sharing these gorgeous and easy to duplicate outdoor lighting ideas with you today. I know you can find the perfect backyard lighting for your space.
17+ Gorgeous Outdoor Lighting Ideas for the Garden
Did I mention my mother’s day gift this year was yard work?
I will admit, I definitely got my “money’s worth” out of that gift. It took my hubby a couple of weekends to finish the makeover on our little side garden. I pitched in a little when we were shoveling and spreading the rock and choosing plants, but that is about all I did.
Now that it’s done we’ve really been enjoying the new garden in the mornings. We jokingly call it the bird sanctuary as it is “bird-a-palooza” out there all day long!
Light up those warm summer Nights
It would be amazing if we could spend more time out there in the late evening after the day cools off, but right now it is just pitch black out there. (Which is nice if you are stargazing, but not so much if you are trying to hang out and have a conversation.) So it is definitely time we come up with a few outdoor lighting ideas to brighten up the backyard in the evening.
We have all sorts of wildlife out here. Our little DIY Bubble Fountain really brings them in. Hubby snapped this picture through our bedroom window one morning, earlier this summer. Isn’t it pretty?
I’ve spent some time lately browsing and collecting Outdoor Lighting Ideas on Pinterest, Houzz, and Google Images to get inspiration for the hubby’s next project. I’ve come across a few images and project ideas that are just perfect for our garden and am excited to share these backyard lighting ideas with you!
Our neighborhood has a dark sky light regulation, so make sure to check if you have a similar rule before committing to your lighting fixtures.
Frequently asked Outdoor Lighting Questions:
Dark Sky lights are designed to aim your lighting towards the ground and not up into the sky where it adds to noise pollution and blocks the view of the night sky and stars.
The answer to this question is based on your budget and access to a power source. In our case, we used low voltage up against the house and solar path lights on the paths that are too far away. Of course, if your budget is unlimited you can have low voltage lighting where ever you like.
Are you looking for a lighting idea that will give instant results? Then I will recommend string lights every time. You can plug them in almost everywhere and look amazing in practically every setting!
Outdoor Lighting Ideas for the Garden
1. Mason Jars from a Sheppard’s hook.
I love these little mason jars hanging from mini-shepherd’s hook. You can get the tutorial and make some for yourself at Finding Home. I can totally picture this lighting in a couple of spots around the perimeter and by the stone bench.
2. Premade Mason Jar Lights
Of course, if you are not a DIY-er or just don’t want to make your own outdoor mason jar light, you could always buy premade mason jar lights like these gorgeous ones from Sweet Tea Clothing Co. on Etsy.
3. Hanging Mason Jars with Fairy Lights
Or check out these darling hanging mason jars. You can find solar-powered hanging mason jars on Amazon or use your own mason jars and just add battery-powered fairy lights.
4. Hanging Tree Lanterns
If you have a lot of trees in your garden, you can find a ton of hanging lantern ideas. These hanging outdoor garden lanterns are beautiful. I think I have seen very similar lanterns at Hobby Lobby and here on amazon.
5. Hanging Votives
Another hanging mason jar idea, although I recommend using battery-powered tea lights over an open flame.
6. Tin Can Lanterns
If glass votives or mason jars aren’t your thing, you could always follow this Tin Can Lantern Tutorial from Grow Creative.
7. Sun Jars
These little sun jars from Fox and Feather would be perfect soft lighting on my outdoor coffee table.
8. Outdoor Chandelier
This is a great idea for a DIY chandelier. Something like this would be perfect over our door dining set.
9 String Light Wrapped trees
We have a ton of trees, it would be so gorgeous to wrap a few of them in white rope lights and create a little sitting area.
10. Trellis wrapped in Lights
How pretty would a lighted trellis be over our stone bench. See how to make this one over at Kojo Designs.
11. Tiki Torches
Don’t forget about tiki torches. They are inexpensive and look amazing for any outdoor gathering. The best part is you can purchase fuel that is designed to keep mosquitos away!
12. Yard Lanterns
I love the idea of large lanterns strategically placed around the yard. I have several that are very similar to these lanterns that I got from QVC. They have lasted 3+ years and are still going strong.) Amazon has some good-looking solar lanterns as well.
13. Diy Lampshade String Lights
These cupcake liner lights are so darling and creative and would look adorable hanging from the ceiling of the porch!
14. Japanese Lanterns
Or it could be something as simple as Japanese lanterns with battery-powered luminaries hung from the trees or just a string! (Just be sure to take them down when it rains, lol.)
15. Globe String Lights
We definitely wanted to hang some of the round bulb string lights over the top of the garden. Similar to the photos below. Finally found the perfect outdoor string lights here on Amazon!
16. Paper Bag Lights
These paper bag lights look easy and fun to do:
17. Pathway lights
I love these pathway lights! They are the perfect size for our rock stepping stones.
Of course, if you have a wider pathway, you could go with a larger path light.
18. Solar Pathway Lights
Of course, you can’t go wrong with solar pathway lights, these can be found at just about all of the large hardware stores. My current pathway light of choice are these square/modernish-looking pathway lights from Lowes.
19. Rope lights
How cool is this DIY Rope Light Design found over at A Beautiful Mess?
We used these rope lights from Lowes to add lighting to our outdoor patio.
20. Upcycled Globe lights
Here is a great DIY idea to up-cycle your old-style light fixtures:
Outdoor Plans
How about you? Do you have any big plans in the works to spruce up your outdoor space? I’d love to hear from you about your plans!
If you are looking for a few more semi-easy outdoor projects you can do yourself, be sure to check these out as well:
How to Make a Bubble Fountain in a Pot
Make a Wood and Rope Tree Swing
No Sew Outdoor Patio Curtains (from drop cloths)
Don't miss any more posts!
I love that these ideas are both creative and practical! I’m excited to add a DIY chandelier in my outdoor space. Thanks for sharing!
The little pathway lights…what are they? Seriously cute!
I love all of these decorative lights! It definitely adds some sparkle and romance to any yard or party!
I am so thankful for what you have shared about these outdoor lighting ideas for the garden. The images you have featured here are beautiful and stunning! If you were to ask me, any of those will make my garden so attractive.
wow! wonderful post. their images is very nice. Great ideas , Thanks for your post. I’ve been thinking about writing a very comparable post over the last couple of weeks, I’ll probably keep it short and sweet and link to this instead if thats cool. Thanks for Extraordinary post.
JIIMMY
Absolutely fabulous! Thanks for sharing these ideas Jamie xoxo Pinned.
I just received an email from Pinterest stating that they deleted this pin from my board at the request of the content owner. Coming back to your page, I see that you reference the site in your writing, have links to your boards, and the photo that I pinned appears to be formatted for Pinterest. This makes me think that you don't have a problem with your photos being on Pinterest. I wanted to let you know in case someone else was claiming your content. Love your site, by the way.
Thanks Julie! One of the Etsy shop owners objected to me sharing their photo and shop link. She complained to pinterest that I was stealing her content and pinterest deleted the pin. I removed her photo and shop link from my post and it should be ok now, in fact I have already re-pinned it.
Sorry for any confusion and I appreciate the comment…
-Jamie
oop, sorry Felicia, I didn't mean to delete that (I should probably turn on the light in my office)… here is her comment:
its sometimes challenging to sell hand made things online and shop owner definitely doesn't want anyone encouraging others to diy it
Thanks for sharing our mason jar lights! Wishing you a great week! Take care, Laura
Love love love twinkle lights….Pinning and following !!!! Christine from http://littlebrags.blogspot.com
These are fantastic! I can't wait to spruce up my backyard with some of these ideas! Thanks so much for sharing! Stopping by from Hoyby Crafts.
I loved so many of these great ideas! Can't wait till October when we can again be enjoying the great outdoors on our patio!
These are all such adorable ideas, and I'm especially partial to anything in mason jars! Happy to be visiting from Making the World Cuter Monday 🙂
This is such a great round-up of lighting ideas. I seriously love them all and your family of deer! Thanks for sharing with us this week at Monday Funday!
Take care,
Trish