After the Fireworks: How to Keep Your Garden Glowing All Winter

As the last rockets fade and evenings draw in, your garden doesn’t need to vanish into darkness. With clever, low-energy lighting, you can turn November gloom into golden warmth — keeping patios, paths, and pergolas alive with light long after the Bonfire Night sparks have settled.

The smoke’s cleared, the sparklers are spent, and the smell of gunpowder’s just about gone — yet our gardens are suddenly pitch black by tea-time. Every November, we promise ourselves to do something about it, and every year the same thought returns: “Why didn’t I sort the garden lighting while it was still light?”

The truth is, this is the perfect moment. The clocks have gone back, the nights are long, and now you can really see where lighting makes the biggest difference — the path you can’t find, the steps you half-trip over, or the patio that’s just begging for a soft golden wash of light.

A well-planned winter lighting scheme isn’t about adding glare. It’s about texture, contrast and warmth — those subtle tones that make a bare garden feel inviting again. Think of a few gentle uplighters at the base of evergreens, a touch of festoon lighting along a fence, and a discreet spotlight to draw the eye towards an old tree or sculpture. Suddenly, the garden’s alive again — not summer’s blaze, but a steady, confident glow.

With modern LED fittings, energy use is minimal. Combine that with timers or remote-control systems and your garden quietly transforms itself at dusk — no cold dash outside, no fiddling with switches. Just light, where and when you need it.

So while others are packing away the fireworks, now’s the time to plan your own winter spark — one that lasts long past Bonfire Night.

Build your own winter lighting glow with Garden Lighting Solutions by Eagle & Spear — we design, supply and install bespoke garden lighting schemes across London and the South East. Book your free design survey here.