Will it go green?

That's one of the frequently asked questions I get about copper garden lighting. In the very long term, the answer is probably yes because of the pollution in our atmosphere.

In the short term - by that I mean several years - the answer is usually no. Copper garden lights treated to just rain and sun will tend to go a mottled nutty brown finish within a few weeks. This is an attractive natural finish - more natural than any painted finish - which blends well with brick, stone, gravel, woody stems, bark mulch - in other words most of the natural backgrounds we find in landscaped gardens. You'll find an example online at http://www.lightingforgardens.com/home.php if you visit the product gallery or search for the M6415 Chatenay copper spreadlight. The M6131 copper downlight from Megabay is another example shown on the Lighting for Gardens website.

Copper garden lights will go green with the effect of chemicals, whether that's copper fungicide sprayed by the gardener, tap water with various dissolved salts sprayed around by the irrigation system or pressure washer, or polluted rainfall near motorways. But I have seen several ten year old garden lighting systems when revisiting clients 10 years after initial installation and the copper garden lights have been that nice nutty brown colour rather than muddy verdigris.

That's provided you are not like the lady at the Chelsea Flower Show who saw a display of Megabay's copper garden lights and asked "how often would my housekeeper have to polish these?" Need I say more?