Spring and summer, mostly built from what is already in the garage

Spring and summer are the smallest seasonal spend of the year, and that is the point of this section rather than an apology for it. By April you already own the parts that cost real money: an outdoor timer, a rated extension cord, a pair of lanterns and a wreath hanger on the door. Everything else is small.

This is also where the case for buying quality infrastructure once becomes obvious. A 15 A UL-listed timer bought for Christmas lights works every season for years. A seasonal-themed decoration bought in April works for six weeks and then occupies shelf space until the following April.

What carries over

How we evaluate

The criteria in this section skew toward dimensions and coverage, because the products are simpler and the decisions are about fit rather than performance:

• Published dimensions — bunting is one of the few seasonal categories sold with reliable measurements, which makes it plannable.
• Coverage — total run covered per pack, computed by us.
• Weather tolerance — summer UV fades fabric faster than winter cold damages it, and red fades first.
• Storage friendliness — most summer decor folds flat, which is a real advantage over every other season.

The load question is smaller, but it does not vanish

Spring and summer displays are usually just LED path or string lights, which draw very little — a run of path lights is often under 50 W, which is trivial for any outdoor cord. The exception is anything with a motor, such as a small pump or a fountain, which draws more than its running figure suggests when it starts.

The gauge table is in extension cords by gauge, and the same arithmetic as how many amps applies in July exactly as it does in December.

This section started as the lightest on the site and is no longer. Bunting, the spring carry-over, patio and pergola lighting, how to hang a span, garden lighting beyond the patio, the solar-versus-mains question, the year-round lighting spec and the summer porch are all covered now; Easter depth and container planting follow as the content engine reaches them.