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Create a pretty subtle glow

No decent garden scheme is complete without some illumination. A set of garden lights works twofold: it'll both ensure you can enjoy your home's outdoor space well into the evening, as well as provide some additional aesthetic twinkly charm to make your garden pretty after dark. So, once you've got your furniture set (or sun lounger) sorted, it's time to start planning your scheme.

There are two main types of garden lighting:

Mains-powered lights tend to be stronger and brighter. Dot a few of these around your furniture set, so you can see what you're doing once the sun's faded. You can fit some wall-mounted lamps to your outside wall, or, if you have a canopy of sorts over your patio, there are ceiling suspended options, too. There are also plenty of floor lamp styles (that wouldn't look out of place in your actual living room) that'll create an additional glow.

Solar powered lights aren't as bright but create a pleasing twinkly ambience without adding to your monthly energy bills. Use them to stake out pathways and add something extra to your flowerbeds and your trees. You can be a little more creative with where you use solar garden lights as they don't need to be near to a power source and won't trail unsightly wires across your lawn. These lights also tend to be on the lower end of the price scale.

A fully-realised garden lighting scheme will, therefore, include a mix of the two kinds, so we've included both (along with some battery and smart options, for those into that) to help you create a properly majestic outside space. Here's our round up of the best outdoor garden lights for 2022, including solar, mains-powered, smart and battery powered options.

This is sweet – it'll give your garden a real vintage feel. Pair with a wrought iron furniture set and some trailing Wisteria to complete the scheme properly.

Graham & Green is always our go-to shop when we want something a little different, and this set of solar globe lights is no exception. Hang them from the trees or place them artfully at the edge of your lawn – either way they're sure to make a talking point with barbecue guests. (Don't worry about them rolling off, they come with a ground pole to keep them steady.)

You could use these inside, too – the additional battery pack will keep them glowing long past sunnier days.

If you've been working on making your home work smarter, you'll have heard of Philips Hue. The brand has recently released a new range of garden lighting to complement its existing interior selection.

We especially like its offerings with colourful bulbs. Utilising the full colour spectrum, these give you the ability to create schemes far more adventurous than with traditional bulbs – time to get creative!

Unlike the spotlights above, which would work better dotted around your lawn, use this near your seating area to help you see. The downlighter/uplighter effect is very sophisticated and, yes, it also has multicolour capacity as well as a traditional white light. We think it looks very chic.

Here's a good quality set of festoon lights from Garden Trading. You can connect sets up together if you need more, and the brand also sells a pole to hang them from so that you can create a proper display in larger spaces.

Get that indoor/outdoor vibe with this outdoor tripod lamp. It'd look equally at home in your conservatory as on your patio.

Instantly cover up boring plain walls with this twinkly faux trellis – it'd work especially well for smaller, inner city gardens, we reckon.

Illuminate your driveway, porch or pathway with a couple of these smart post lamps.

Use these industrial style up-and-downlights to brighten up your either side of your home's front entryway, or fix several along the side of your house by your patio.

This copper light will gradually fade to a green patina, for a vintage, weathered look over time.

Scandi vibes here – this one's a bit trendier than some of the more basic lights, with its cool metal cage.

Group these pretty lanterns together to add a subtle glow to your patio while you relax outside in the evening.

If you're on more of a budget, here's a cheaper alternative to the Garden Trading festoon lights. They're reasonably long at 28.5m, so they'll likely fit along the length of your garden fence, or hang them over your patio area, held up with festoon poles.

These cute little bees will create little glowing orbs when hung from trees.

This probably won't be to everyone's taste but, if you're interested, it'll certainly make a statement on your decking or patio.

These sweet glowy fairy lights are really, really long, so they're very versatile — thread them along the length of your garden fence, wind them around a tree trunk or coil them along a balcony. Be creative!

This is a great price for 10 solar lights. Stock up on a couple of sets and illuminate either side of a pathway, or space them out around the edge of your lawn.

Hang these jar lights from a tree for a vintage-style effect.

For a front garden, these globe lights create a slightly smarter look than traditional-style solar stake options.

These lights turn on when they detect motion, so they're a good option to intall in your porch or by your front door, to help you find your keys in your handbag when y0u arrive home after dark. You do need a Philips Hue bridge for this to work, however.