The best outdoor lights to buy for your garden for summer 2023

We are in danger of actually — whisper it — getting the sort of summer weather that we have all been waiting for. We’ve enjoyed a taste of sunshine and now our attention is fully focused on making the most of whatever outdoor space we can find. Coffee on the patio? Yes please. Tomatoes in grow bags? Check. But what we want most of all is to spend balmy evenings eating and entertaining alfresco. Should this fantasy become a reality, a way to make outside areas work a little harder this year is to think about how best to illuminate them.

A bit of extra lighting — whether it is a few jolly strings of solar-powered festoon lights, groups of oversized lanterns or sparkling stake