Lighting in the garden is either for practical purposes, for guiding visitors safely along paths and drives and illuminating you house number, or can be employed merely for decoration. Where there is little or no street lighting, several low-lying diffuse lights along the line of the drive and the access paths between the road, the house and the garage, are a virtual necessity to light hidden obstacles and steps. Try out different strengths and positions for the lights before you wire them up permanently. Lighting the living area of the garden makes it pleasant for entertaining or sitting out on warm evenings. A special outdoor lighting system will be necessary if the house lights are not sufficient. Try to strike a balance between flooding the area with blinding white light (the only possible point of this is to keep off burglars) and merely creating a sense of gloom which only emphasizes the surrounding darkness.

The outdoor lighting apparatus available is varied, including low voltage coloured lights intended to light ponds and swimming pools underwater. An element of fantasy can enter your deign here, but beware of dominating pools or plants with garnish pattern of unnatural colour. Blossoming trees and shrubs or bare branches under the snow or forest can look magnificent when lit. Lanterns hanging in trees will cast moving patterns of shadow while spotlights from below will show up the intricacy of the foliage, leaving the light source mysteriously concealed.

Setting up a large outdoor electrical system, when the leads must be buried underground, is a professional job, as the electricity authorities must approve the design of the circuit. All fitments and leads must be waterproof. Electric lights on the external walls of the house or close to it can be connected directly to power points inside the house, but again they should be tightly waterproofed.

The easiest way to provide temporary lighting for parties is either to have a string of electric fairy lights which you arrange round the garden, or to use one of a variety of candles (floating on a pool if you have one), flares and oil lamps. Any form of exposed light should, of course, be well safeguarded, especially when children are about.

€ Light from a hidden source shining at night on sculpture, pools and plants can from a mysterious and impressive composition to be seen from a terrace or window. It is usually more effective to create a striking contrast between