Copper Lantern

Night or day, this lantern and stand will delight visitors to your garden.

Candles instantly create a romantic atmosphere, perhaps because they cast a soft, warm glow that’s flattering to both people and places. Low-voltage lights illuminate many gardens, but even the most sophisticated lighting systems can’t duplicate the mood that candles create. Some occasions and circumstances call for candlelight, even in the garden.

By combining a handful of copper plumbing supplies and a few other inexpensive materials, you can create a garden lantern that enhances your garden by day as well as by night. Reshaped copper pipe straps form a support system for the top and bottom of the lantern; a ring of silicone caulk provides a buffer to keep the glass hurricane globe from tipping or rattling; a brass machine screw secures the candle to the frame; a threaded brass rod connects the frame to the hanging arch.

Before you go shopping for a candle or hurricane globe, check the dimensions in the diagram on the next page. Be sure the globe you select is proportional to the lantern and leaves enough clearance for you to light the candle with a long match. Note: Although the sturdy framework and hurricane globe of this lantern shelter the candle, as with any open flame, it should not be left unattended while burning.