We take great pride in our lush gardens. But a garden that is dim at night can make yards look incomplete. Garden lights are an inexpensive (in the long run), effective, and long-lasting way to completely change the feel of gardens.
They cast eye-catching shadows and brilliantly illuminate the aspects of the vegetation that you’re most pleased with.
In this article, we’ll be reviewing some of the most colorful, decorative, and overall best outdoor garden lights to really spruce up your space!
In a Hurry? Here’s Our Top Picks…
Our Pick
1. Solar Powered Stainless Steel and Glass Garden Pathway Lights
Last update on 2019-11-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Available in a 2, 4, and 8 pack, these garden lights are perfect for highlighting garden beds, garden pathways, and landscape edging. These lights come in three visually appealing stainless steel hues (silver, black, and brown) to blend with any backyard decor.
Though somewhat of an investment initially, these garden lights are guaranteed to save you money in the long run by being solar-powered. Solar-powered lights rely on the sun’s energy to work – and therefore won’t run up your electrical bill.
Rust and weatherproof, these lights are adorned with watertight diamond glass that cast bright, gorgeous patterns on the ground at night. They charge during the day and turn on automatically at dusk, emitting warm white light anywhere from 8 to 12 hours.
What We Like Best:
- Can be purchased in either a 2, 4 or 8 garden light pack
- Garden lights are available in silver, brown, and black to better match your outdoor color scheme
- These solar-powered lights save you money on electricity
- Diamond glass creates a unique pattern of light on the ground
- Charge during the day and turn on automatically at night
- Run from 8 to 12 hours each night
- Rust and weatherproof
- Emit bright but warm white light
- 30-day warranty (full refund) if you’re not satisfied with your purchase
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Other Great Outdoor Garden Lights
2. Maggift 8 Pcs Solar Powered LED Garden Lights
Last update on 2019-11-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
These Maggift Solar Powered Garden Lights are perfect for adding ambiance to any garden. They are not overly bright and are only meant to be used as subtle accent pieces. They’re available for purchase in an 8 light pack in the color Black.
The lights are completely weather-resistant, no matter the temperature or condition. Once the lights are received, you would need to switch the ON/OFF button to “ON”. From then on, the lights will automatically regenerate during the day and turn on once the sun goes down.
The Maggift lights are easily staked into the ground and are encased by a decorative screen. Like the previous garden lights, these lights will cast a pretty, glowing pattern onto the ground of your garden or garden pathway. They’re petite, which means they won’t take up unnecessary space and makes them wonderful for smaller gardens.
What We Like Best:
- Petite lights, perfect for smaller or busy gardens
- Weather-resistant and can withstand harsher weather conditions
- Automatically power themselves and turn on at night
- Lights are encased by a decorative black screen
- The light screen casts pretty patterns onto the ground
- Lights aren’t too bright, which makes them great garden accent pieces
- Easily staked into the ground wherever you want them
- Come in a pack of 8 lights
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3. Bubble RGB Color Changing Solar Powered Garden Lights
Last update on 2019-11-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
If you’re wanting a bit of color and bubbly fun in your garden, look no further! These Bubble Color Changing Garden Lights are perfect for the vibrant garden owner. The vivid solar-powered lights would really bring out a tropical or flower-filled garden and enhance any eye-catching colors and shapes.
Come rain or snow, these lights will persevere. Not only are they weatherproof, but they’re also long-lasting and durable. These lights, after only 4 hours of daytime charging, will glow beautiful, bright colors for 8 hours each night.
The lights come in sets of 2, they’re easy to assemble, and they shine in continuously changing colors. The hard plastic also has unmoving bubbles in its interior, truly adding to their fun appearance.
What We Like Best:
- Fun lights that rotate between various bright colors
- Cute bubble appearance
- Would definitely enhance the appearance of a tropical or colorful, flower-filled garden
- Rain and frost-proof – so there’s no need to worry about the weather!
- Easy to assemble and stake into the ground
- Charge completely after only 4 hours and shine for up to 8 during the night
- Full refund within 30 days of purchasing if you’re unhappy with your purchase
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4. GIGALUMI Outdoor Garden Solar Lights
Last update on 2019-11-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
These outdoor garden lights would make a great fit for minimalists who love the modern style. They’re quite small and perfect for fitting in tight garden spaces. Though simple, these lights are sturdy and resilient; designed to weather hot, stormy, and even snowy days.
The GIGALUMI Outdoor Garden Solar Lights are, unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately – it depends on the person), only available in a 12 pack. But before you panic, these lights are super easy to install. You’ll have all 12 lights unpacked, assembled, and staked into the ground in no time.
Now for the cool part: this garden light set is available for purchase in four awesome modes. You can either buy a pack of multi-color garden lights, warm white lights, white lights, or (prepare yourself) … color-changing lights. Pretty snazzy, huh?
The exterior of the lights is made with very sleek, contemporary stainless steel caps and stakes.
What We Like Best:
- A simple, contemporary look to blend into your garden without being too gaudy
- Easy to install: simply stake into the ground wherever they look best
- Will stay lit up to 8 hours during the night, illuminating your flowers and vegetation
- Available in a 12 pack. This can be a con for some, but who doesn’t need extra solar-powered garden lights every now and again?
- Weatherproof, able to withstand very hot, humid, rainy, or snowy days
- Available in 4 color modes: warm white, white, multicolor, or color-changing (which we think is pretty nifty)
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
5. ZUCKEO 5W LED Garden Landscape Lights
Last update on 2019-11-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Now, the ZUCKEO lights are more so miniature spotlights, rather than decorative garden lights. But if you have a sizable garden, these little powerhouses would be a wonderful option to really light up your life.
These garden lights come in a pack of 8. They’re easy to stake into the ground, and the light heads are adjustable so that you can get the perfect angle. The exteriors are made of painted aluminum and glass to prevent rusting and water damage and they hold up in various harsh weather conditions.
Unfortunately, these are not solar-powered or cordless lights. You will need a cord that can get 12-24V to these outdoor garden lights for them to work most efficiently. You’ll also need a transformer and wire connectors. Not fun, we know – but these lights work brilliantly to make dark gardens really pop once the sun goes down.
These lights emit a homey, warm white light to avoid harshness and ultimately look more esthetically appealing than those – let’s face it – ugly blue-white lights.
What We Like Best:
- Emit bright, but warm, white lights that hone in on specific garden features
- Adjustable light head so you can get that perfect angle
- Available in packs of 8 lights to cover large garden areas
- Made of painted aluminum exteriors to prevent rusting and water damage to the bulbs
- Easy to assemble and stake into the ground, saving you time and frustration
What Could Improve:
- These lights are not solar-powered and they aren’t cordless – and that can be somewhat of an annoying hassle
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
Considerations Before Purchasing
Now that we’ve gone over our favorite outdoor garden lights, let’s review some things to consider as you’re browsing around:
To Solar-Power or Not to Solar-Power?
There’s a reason why the majority of our outdoor garden light picks are solar-powered: they’re easier to deal with, and they won’t run your electricity bill up. Solar lights can also be placed in areas that are not even close to being accessible by a power outlet, which means you can conveniently stick them all over your garden with no worries.
So you won’t need to spend any money after the initial purchase, you won’t need access to electricity, you can place the lights wherever your little heart desires, and there’s no need to remember to turn them on or off because they do that on their own.
What’s better than that?
Although, with outdoor garden lights that run on electricity, you might get a longer-lasting product that emits much brighter light.
In the end, it’s really down to personal preference.
Price
Some of the prices on our list might be a tad bit daunting at first glance. But the great thing about these outdoor garden lights (being mostly solar-powered and all) is that after the initial cost, you won’t be spending another dime.
Decorative or Bright Lights?
Deciding whether or not you want dimmer, decorative lights or brighter lights for dark gardens will truly help you in your search for outdoor garden lights.
Some garden lights, like the Maggift Solar Powered Garden Lights, are designed to be dimmer and bring a calming ambiance to your outdoor space. Decorative outdoor garden lights will generally also cast pretty patterns onto the ground.
Alternatively, lights like the ZUCKEO Garden Lights, are meant to illuminate large areas of vegetation to make your garden less dark when night falls.
If you’re looking to line your garden walkway or edging, we recommend purchasing decorative garden lights. However, if you’re the proud owner of a large garden, we recommend possibly going with the brighter options to make your garden less shadowy.
IP Rank: How Waterproof are Those Lights, Exactly?
Obviously, with any outdoor light, you want to be sure that they’ll last even through the rainy days. The IP rating (standing for International Protection rating) shows how effective a product, in this case, lights, are against water, dust or other invasive substances.
64 is the minimum rating for waterproof lights, so it’s important to look for this rating when searching for outdoor garden lights. All of the lights on our list meet the requirements for being rainproof and resilient in wet weather conditions.
FAQ
Q: Can outdoor garden lights be manually turned on and off?
A: Yes! Most garden lights, whether they’re solar-powered or run on electricity, can be manually enabled or disabled. For some solar lights, you’ll be required to turn the switch on before they begin storing the energy from the sun.
Most of the lighting choices on our list are solar-powered, though, which means you won’t even need to turn the lights on and off – the sensors in the lights do it for you!
Q: Is it difficult to drive the stakes of the lights into the ground?
A: Not really. The stakes are generally sturdy and sharp enough to effortlessly pierce the ground. However, if you’re battling particularly hard ground, you may want to dampen the soil with water from your garden hose before attempting to insert the stake into your garden.
Q: Can I partially submerge my solar-powered garden lights in the water?
A: We don’t recommend partially submerging your solar-powered garden lights. While outdoor garden lights are water and weatherproof, it’s only to an extent. Outdoor garden lights are not made to be submerged unless stated otherwise by the manufacturer. They are designed only to resist heavy rains and snows, at most.
Q: Will my outdoor garden lights freeze in the winter?
A: Nope! Outdoor garden lights, solar-powered or electric, are designed to withstand cold or hot temperatures and endure various weather conditions such as sleet, rain, or snow. But if you’re worried about it, you can certainly store your outdoor garden lights until the weather begins to warm.
Q: Will solar-powered garden lights charge only when the weather is sunny?
A: No. Solar-powered garden lights will charge even on cloudy days. However, most will only partially charge. So instead of getting an average of 8-12 hours of light at night, you’ll probably only get around 4-6 hours.
Q: How long is the life expectancy of the bulbs of my garden lights?
A: Outdoor garden lights, both solar-powered and electric, can last several years if used as intended.
Final Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed our article covering the 5 best outdoor garden lights! Adding lighting to your garden is a wonderful way to create dimension, highlight focal points, and cast intriguing shadows.
There are endless creative possibilities with garden lights. Your imagination is the limit! You can choose from colorful, decorative garden lights to create unique shadow patterns on your garden walkways; or use garden spotlights to show off your beautiful plants night and day.
However you choose to use your outdoor garden lights, we know you’ll make the best of them!
