A path is safer and a garden is prettier with a line of low light along it, and solar is the only way to do it without trenching a cable across the lawn. Set them out, leave them, and they come on when the light goes.

What a solar pathway light does

It marks the walk from the curb to the door at ankle height, shows every step change after dark, and does it with no wiring at all. The panel charges by day and the light comes on at dusk, so the landscaping layer runs itself. Beacon and Vesper are lanterns with no wiring. Beam is a rattan lantern in three sizes, Chaz a rectangular lamp in four, and Skye a wire-free light in three, and all three dim from a remote.

How to choose the right size

One light every 6 to 8 feet is the working spacing, so a 40-foot walkway takes five to seven, staggered side to side rather than paired. Stop the run a few feet short of the door and let the entrance sconce finish it. Size to the setting: Beam's small or Chaz's small beside a narrow path, the large sizes at a driveway or a terrace edge. The panel needs about six hours of direct sun a day, so keep the run clear of tree shade and deep beds, and expect 6 to 12 hours of light from a full charge.

Styles and rooms across the range

Beacon and Vesper suit a formal path or a terrace; Beam's rattan suits a softer garden setting; Chaz holds clean, architectural lines for a contemporary facade, and Skye is the wire-free light for a pool edge or a bed. The wired alternative for the same brief lives in the pathway and post lights collection, and the wall side of solar sits on the solar wall lights page. For every outdoor option in one place, the outdoor lighting collection holds the rest.

All five charge from the sun and run warm white. Four come in black; Beam is brown rattan. Space them every 6 to 8 feet, stagger them, and give the panels the midday sun.