Cottage Garden Lighting… Great Ideas!

Do you have a garden which needs some ambient lighting?
How about Cottage Garden Lighting?

There are many types of gardens in many different styles. My own personal favorites are as varied as the styles in my home decorating, and in my wreaths designs. If I had to narrow it down, I would use these terms to describe my garden… French, English, Cottage, or eclectic.

For example, I have many bird feeders and bird houses (the older, more rustic ones, of course). I have some pieces of old wrought iron, with green peeling paint, left over from an old home being torn down, strategically placed… lol… Well, it is just situated where the mood strikes me, if you really want to know! And, believe it or not, I have an old mantle propped up against the side of the house — with peeling paint, of course.

There are many, many other treasures spread throughout my English/French country garden which I won’t go into right now — because I want to talk about lighting in a garden.

I came across a really neat idea the other day that I want to share with you.

I Know You Can’t Wait to Hear About This Amazing Idea… Right?

Just look at the picture above. This is an old chandelier — maybe copper at one time, or one of the burnished looks. Notice that the light bulb holders have been removed which leaves a little hole in the cup to add something else…like a solar light! I have done the same thing with candles before… but I like the solar light ideas so much more, it will be safer, cheaper in the long run, and easier!

Now, look at the picture to your right. Obviously, this is a completely different chandelier than above. This is probably the way one would like that you might find at a tag or yard sale.

You need to remove the white cardboard tubes which hold the chandelier bulbs, and pull out the wiring. Each one will be different; some may have a spot to hold your solar light, and some may not. Just be creative — sometimes a little glue, or wire may be just the thing you need to attach your solar lights to your old yard sale find — making it look exceptional in your garden.

To the left is a picture of the same chandelier after being painted a little.

This one probably has been spray painted with some of the pieces removed, making it have a more simple look. Try mixing a little brown and gold paint to get this look. I personally, like a little green patina, so I would probably rub some green paint on top of this one before finishing it. And, as far as I am concerned, if it rusts, then WooHoo! That is a look that I love and try to duplicate quite often — so don’t worry about that. It seems to fit into the outside even more when there is some rust showing through.

Notice how on this particular one, the cups which hold the solar lighting just fit right in after the cardboard light holders and wiring have been removed. I do want to point out again, that each and every one is different, so I think it would help you to know exactly which types of smaller solar lights are available. Before writing this newsletter, I went to Amazon and typed in Solar Lighting.

There were numerous shapes, colors, sizes, and forms. I saw several that I want to order for myself right away! Did you know that you can even purchase Christmas lights that are solar? If you are like me and enjoy having Christmas lights in the tees of your garden year round, just imagine how much money these would end up saving you.

“Oh Honey… come here a second. I have found something that I love and really want to purchase…” Teeheehee….

Now, below is the finished Chandelier glowing in the night.

I don’t know about you, but I am finally going to do this with the three Chandeliers I have been holding onto for quite a while. I just knew the moment I saw them, that I would do something wonderful with them one day. Well, that day has finally come.

Isn’t it just lovely? Imagine inviting friends and neighbors over to sit outside, enjoying each others company with maybe some homemade cake and coffee. Yummy… sounds good… y’all come on over, okay…. smiling…

Still Receiving Comments From Faithful Followers…

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