life

10 cheap and stylish garden accessories to up the appeal of your outdoor space

Published 17:18 6 May 2020 BST

Didn't get your hands on one of Aldi's fire pits last week? No matter.

You're sick of looking at your four walls, right? In fact, you've damn near never felt so grateful for the garden, balcony, footpath or doorstep that surrounds your home, have you? Yeah, we're the exact same. Given the restrictions in place on account of the lockdown, it's no real surprise that folk the length and breadth of Ireland have started focussing extra intensely on the outdoor space they call their own. Whether you exercise in it, read in it, barbecue in it, or just enjoy a glass of wine when the weather allows, it feels like our outdoor areas have never been more important to us. In fact, many of us are wholly consumed by garden accessories and patio accoutrements right now, and thankfully retailers haven't let us down in that department. And with garden centres and hardware stores allowed to reopen as of this week, there's now more options for us to get what we need to spruce up our spaces.

Few of us can afford to splash out on a full suite of patio furniture or invest in a brand-new top-of-the-range barbecue, but that doesn't have to hold you back when it comes to overhauling your garden, balcony or outdoor space. From plants and planters to lanterns and LED wind chimes, there's no shortage of ways to decorate your outdoor space without breaking the bank. In fact, the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes, H&M and Marks & Spencer have all come up trumps with some cheap and cheerful ways to style our gardens. Prices for outdoor decor vary wildly, so if you're wondering what the difference is it's usually in the item's ability to handle the weather. For instance, you can get gorgeous decorative pots for as little as €10, but the frost-proof ones that will survive the Irish climate can cost many times that. Below are some items that can stay in your garden, some that will need to be brought in at night if you want to stop them weathering, and others that will bring a touch of the outdoors in for those who don't have a garden to enjoy right now. 1. Festuca Blue Grass €3.99