Unless your aiming at total darkness to gaze at the night stars, your garden, patio or any outdoor space need some kind of light to spread magic to your space.
As oppose to the interior lighting, the outdoors usually don't require any general lighting. The correct amount and type of lighting will serve the purpose to create a lovely, relaxing atmosphere. Trees, plants and even outdoor sculpture can become part of your scenery especially through the use of spotlights.
When lit, the different hues of greens and browns of the foliage, the leaves shapes and bodies will add extra texture to your area. When using spotlights, their position at different angles and distances plays a crucial role in setting a dynamic play of light and create visual depth.
Some of the outdoor lamps offered by the lighting industry really offers interesting and innovative designs. Here are some of my favourites. Take the Belladinotte by Maurizio Mancini for Davide Groppi with its ingeniously mounted mirror to hide the spotlights which perfectly camouflage in its surrounding. It's the ideal light for low shrubs and hedges, specially when you are not keen on seeing the body of the lamp. Q2 by Alberto Zattin is also another useful lighting tool. This lamps can be located to uplight anything and can become a valid alternative to floor lamps when you need to light large pots or other garden ornaments, or just to bring to life the architectural features of a wall.
The More outdoor collection by catellanismith.com in its three colours (transparent, amber and green) is definitely a unique lighting concept in its genre (and many others are following its steps). The small lamps, which are made out of glass and individually hand shaped, act like little sparkling jewels. It truly enchants our eyes!
Or the Medusê (both floor or wall options), in its glorious natural green shade of hand blown glass, really breaks a long tradition of outdoor lamps mainly made out of metal or plastic. It is a pleasure to be wrapped in such a soft lighting glow, and its beauty still has a visual impact in the daylight. Medusê blends perfectly with any outdoor environment.
As standing light with a great IP68 rating to resist dust and water, the Reeds lamp by Klaus Bagasse for Artemide easily attracts the eyes by the illuminated rods of different heights, which adds more drama when these are reflected in nearby pools of water. And the Solar lamp (foscarini.com), which can be firmly inclined to change the lighting effect, offers a comfortable lighting solutions and quickly becomes the visual centre of your entertaining area.