Tiny Gardens: How to Maximise Your Outdoor Space

We’d all love a large, lush green garden stretching out before us at the back of our towering, recently restored three-storey red brick house. Sadly, life doesn’t dole this type of residence out to us all, and often the outdoor space we can call our own is significantly smaller. You may have a tiny balcony connected to your apartment or even a couple of mere patches of green out to the side of your house. Whatever it is, you’ve probably looked at it in the past and thought, why bother – it’s not worth the effort. Luckily, an abundance of time and money is not necessary to breathe life into your little outdoor space. Here are a few ideas to consider.

Pretty Planting

The first (and simplest) way to brighten up a small outdoor space is with plants. Pop in to your local garden centre or flower shop and have a good browse around. This is your space, so what it’s filled with is very much up to you. With a smaller garden, it can be nice to have plentiful stacks of lush, green shrubs and fern-like plants with one or two pops of colour coming from a pot of pretty lavender, a climbing wisteria (dreamy) or perhaps a striking hot pink hydrangea. It’s also a great opportunity to start growing your own herbs. Providing your garden with rich shades of green and luscious smells, whilst also contributing to your top-class cooking – win win.

Furnishing Your Space

When you’re not flush with lots of room, every piece of furniture you choose to include in your small outdoor space matters. Decide on a style and a colour scheme, and stick to it. If you’re working with a balcony in an apartment, try to treat it as an add-on to your indoor space. If you’ve kept this mostly minimal with a pop of colour, style your balcony the same way. This will make your general living space feel bigger, as if the outer part is an extension. You’ll notice this especially the summer when you can leave the balcony door open and will be using it much more.

Little Touches

Sometimes it’s the final touches that can make an outdoor space flourish (literally). From cushions to fairy-lights to plant pots, pay as much attention to each of these details as you have to the bigger, more obvious space-takers. If you’ve kept your space quite clean and minimal, go for a set of brightly coloured fairy-lights or boldly patterned cushions, throws or candles. If your space is already pretty loud, add some muted finishing touches – cream flower pots, small pastel-coloured foot-stools. Now, go – let the fun begin.

Refresh Your Outdoor Space with a Home Improvement Loan from AIB

If you like the idea of freshening up your outdoor space, an AIB Home Improvement Loan can help. AIB offer loans from €1,000 with a loan decision in just three hours*. You can apply online through AIB Internet Banking and the AIB Mobile App. You can also book a branch appointment or phone 0818 724 725 if you’d like to speak to someone in person.

Use our handy loan calculator to find out how much you can borrow today.

*3 hour loan decision applies to fully completed new personal loan applications processed within 3 hours 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri excl. bank holidays. Loans from €1,000-€30,000. Excludes applications: to restructure or clear existing AIB credit facilities; received through Branch and referred to a lender for review, from customers in financial difficulty; for Student and First loans; applications through Business Centres; or where total borrowings exceed €100,000 (excluding Home Loan debt up to €600,000).

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