Recently, we added outdoor accent lights to our gardens.  In the past, we had tried various types of solar lights, always with terrible results.  So this time we went all the way - we bought electric lights as well as the wire and transformers that go with them.  Picking out the design was a lot of fun as Malibu makes lots of choices - in all different shapes, sizes, and finishes.  In the end we chose their three-tier model, in the sandstone finish.  The light color finish looks nice with the color of our house, and the design of the lights allows a decent amount of light to shine through.   Plus, these are fairly tall, standing 11.5" out of the ground.  And fairly wide, at 6" across.  Placed every two feet or so in the garden, it makes quite a nice sight when they're all lit up.

Malibu sells these lights in sets, and individually.  Since we had very specific needs, we went with individual lights, at around $19 each.  Sure, this ends up being expensive, but we got exactly the look we wanted.  We also know that these lights are durable, made of a thick metal, rather than the plastic that others are made from.  Even their spokes (the part that sticks into the ground) is metal.  Use caution as other brands might use metal for the light, but plastic for the spokes.

The light comes disassembled, but is a snap to put together.  You need only screw the upright pole into the light fixture, then screw the pole into the spike.  The only part that's a bit of a pain is inserting the 11 watt light bulb.  While it's nice that the light bulbs are included with the light, it would have been even nicer if they came installed.  Instead, we had to install it ourselves, which involves using a screwdriver to remove three long screws which hold all of the tiers together.  Once the screws are removed, the bulb can be pressed into the contraption in the center of the light.  Then you have to line everything up again and replace the three screws.  Doing it once or twice would be fine, but as we bought over 20 of these lights, it was quite a task to install all of the bulbs.  I sure hope they last a long time as I won't look forward to replacing them all again.

Of course, assembling these lights is only half the battle.  You still have to connect them to an electric source.  This is where your wire and transformer come in.  You'll have to figure out what size transformer you need by calculating the total load of all of your lights.  Once you know how many total watts you need (11 per, for this model light), I would suggest adding another 20% margin, then buying the transformer that can handle the load.  In my case, I bought two 200-watt transformers, once for each side of the garden.  Once you have the transformer, read its instructions to decide what gauge wire you need. 

Then get digging.  Or, do what I did, and hire an electrician to get digging.  In either case, you'll need a trench a couple inches deep to lay your lead wire.  Then attach each of the fixtures to the wire using their two-clasp approach.  Each light comes with a black clasp and a grey clasp, both with sharp metal prongs.  The black clasp goes on the bottom of the wire, and the gray clasp goes on top.  They snap together, allowing both prongs to pierce the sides of the lead wire.  It's a pretty nice system - certainly easier than having to splice and twist wires together.

We are absolutely thrilled with the results.  We use a programmable dual timer to turn the lights on at dusk, and off again a few hours later.  It makes us feel good knowing that our gardens are lit at night, giving the whole house a warm, inviting appearance.  And, when we're not home, it helps give our home a "lived in" look.  Finally, it adds a level of safety as our walkways benefit from the extra light.  It's nice for us (and our guests) to be able to approach our house at night and not be in total darkness.

Fairly easy to install, and made from durable metal, these lights have been pure joy.  They've not given us one moment of trouble, and they look awesome.  I highly recommend them.

Recommended: Yes