Nothing beats glowing cafe-style string lights for their ability to enhance the ambiance of outdoor spaces. In the evenings, their soft glow can quickly transform your patio into a party-ready venue or cheer up a dim backyard with inviting light.

Backyard lights are easy, especially if you have a perfectly positioned fence or trees. Also, if you don’t have a fence or trees or any other tall outdoor objects, you require little--just a few extra supplies and more time--to set up your yard for string lights. Here are some helpful backyard lighting ideas to help you hang outdoor string lights over your balcony, deck, garden, patio, or anywhere else you wish to add some extra glow.

Are String Lights My Best Option for Backyard Lighting?

Industrial LEDs are the best string lights because they’re the most durable outdoor lights around: heavy-duty and long-lasting.

If you intend to keep your backyard lights up year-round, want to use them for many years, or have some type of commercial application, string lights are your best choice.

However, to ensure your industrial LED string lights last longer, you may need to take them down during the winter months, especially if you live in a place that experiences freezing temperatures and severe windstorms. The best areas to add industrial LED string lights include:

• Windy places

• Over a patio or deck without a roof

• Over restaurant patios

• Spanning long distances between posts, trees, or buildings

Unfortunately, industrial LED string lights are costly. Thus, consider inexpensive string lights if you’re operating with a tight budget. Inexpensive string lights work well when hung in protected locations where they won’t get brown or jostled around in the wind. The best places to use inexpensive patio lights include:

• Under a gazebo or pergola roof

• Over covered decks

• Along fences

• Directly on a building or house

Inexpensive string lights are undoubtedly cuter, lightweight, and require less storage when not in use. However, don’t leave them all year round if you live in a windy or harsh climate.

How Do I Hang String Lights Using Trees?

Trees decorated with outdoor light strings look festive during the holidays and are magical and fun any other year. There’s nothing more magical and inviting than an outdoor space decorated with string lighting. String lighting is perfect for many trees, including deciduous trees, evergreens, yucca, and palm trees. Often bare leafless trees offer the ideal framework for hanging outdoor string lights, particularly horizontal-spreading trees.

You’ll need a ladder, outdoor light strands, an outdoor-rated cord, and plant tape or twine to hang outdoor lights across trees. To hang patio string lights using trees, you must:

Choose the trees you want to light up. Choose trees that add a natural focal point to your yard.

Test the light strands by plugging them in and ensuring all the lights work.

Extend the outdoor-rated extension cord to the base of your tree. Wrap the cord around the base of the tree to secure it.

Wrap the Christmas lights around the tree’s trunk and move up after every winding. Use at least four fingers to ensure consistent spacing between each winding around the tree’s trunk.

Wrap the Christmas lights up and down the branches or limbs, ensuring you have additional feet of string.

Use a ladder to reach higher points.

Secure your string lights.

How Do I Hang String Lights Using a Fence?

The following steps will come in handy if you want to hang street lighting along a fence:

First, lay your Christmas lights along your fence where you wish to hang them.

Select wooden posts that can support the lights based on the desired aesthetic and the weight of your patio lights.

Attach cup hooks or metal mounting onto the wooden poles. Ensure these hooks are firm because they’ll support your outdoor string lights.

Install the post onto the fence to support your string lights.

Hang lights along your fence using hooks to support them. If you’d like to hang your string lights directly onto the fence, attach cup hooks or metal mounting hooks onto the fence and hang your outdoor string lights from them.

How Do I hang string Lights Using Poles?

If your backyard has no trees or outdoor furniture to attach your backyard string lights to, you might need to add posts or poles to your yard. You can purchase them or DIY them using a few less costly supplies. You can also DIY string light poles from removable in-ground poles made from PVC pipe or electrical conduit.

Next, use deep buckets or planters to support your poles or posts. Arrange the buckets or planters around the space where you want to hang your backyard string lights over, insert a post or pole with a hook at the center, and fill them with concrete or gravel. Ensure the pole is secure enough and won’t wobble around.

Finally, hang your outdoor lighting between poles using cable ties or hooks. Ensure you hang your Christmas house lights loosely to allow a bit of give, especially if your yard is windy. However, if you don’t want to dig holes in the ground, you should opt for conduit string light poles with patio umbrellas as bases. These are a fantastic option for throwing an outdoor party, renting, or hosting a wedding reception.

How Can I Get Creative With What Fixtures I Already Have to Enhance My Lighting?

For a secure backyard, invest in pathway lights that help people navigate through your backyard in the dark. Spring solar lights effectively illuminate paths and look appealing while doing so. They’re easy to install and need no handwriting. You can place them along walkways, tiles, or dirt.

Another creative way to light up your backyard is by lighting your plants. Instead of focusing harsh lights directly on your yard, underlight your plants to create sculptural shadows and eliminate glares. String solar lights are ideal for illuminating plants. Placing them in your garden creates fairy light, and they’ll illuminate during the day with a soft glow. In addition, round well lights are perfect for decorating floral plants such as shrubs, whereas bullet-shaped spotlights with adjustable heads are perfect for illuminating tall trees.

Further, you can use bullet-shaped spotlights and well lights to highlight fundamental architectural features of your house while also illuminating your backyard. For example, you can emphasize columns, arches, balconies, and gabled roofs to create a dramatic effect.

What Are the Biggest Benefits of String Lighting?

People use fairy lights to make outdoor relaxation more cozy and pleasant in the summer. Summer is a perfect time to relax in your backyard or patio. Milder weather and longer days make it a great time to just chill with friends and family. People often hang string lights across outdoor spaces to add festive sparkles and good vibes to their backyards and sometimes help ensure the good times last longer. If you’re considering creating a relaxing place in your backyard or patio, outdoor string lights should be on your list.

Also referred to as ambient lights or outdoor security lights, string lights are magnificent pieces of artwork. The primary function of fairy lights isn’t to act as a primary light source but to add sparkle to an indoor or outdoor space, producing a magical cozy experience when the area isn’t too lit. You can tweak your lighting to accent the beauty of your surroundings. Many people place fairy lights on other decorative pieces like outdoor furniture, green plants, and gazebos in home offices, patios, living rooms, and yards.

How Can Jellyfish Lighting Help Me?

JellyFish Lighting is one of the best ways to add sparkle to your yard. Whether you want to highlight features like columns or arches or look to light up your backyard, so it’s not too dark, JellyFish Lighting is an excellent choice for ambient and accent lighting. Our app helps you decide which lights you want on and their colors. For instance, you can turn on three lights at the top of each column and leave the rest off.

Also, you can choose preset lighting patterns, where one light is on every 4 or 8 feet. In addition, after creating or selecting a scheme that accents the right parts of your yard, you can save it so that it automatically turns at static times. Finally, our calendar feature allows you to schedule months in advance, so you can easily transition your accent lighting to holiday lighting, changing no settings in the timer.