A garden gnome and I'm all set?

There’s a super-creepy haunted airshaft in between our place and the parole office next door.
Is there any way to make this charming?

Any less like a descent into hell and empty Cheeto bags?

I’m thinking maybe. I scored this table and chairs set from Craiglist on Monday for $20, and put them right back there to brighten my view.


But, with the peeling paint and all, it’s still looking more Grey Gardens than Secret Garden. I’d really like to jazz this area up. Some stone and moss on the ground, a bit of ivy. How cool would it be to have this tucked-away, shady spot to relax and have a cocktail on a hot summer afternoon?
But how? What do I put back there? I posited this question to Apartment Therapy, but I have no idea how backed up they are with questions. So, since you all did such a great job with my question about the locker bins (NOT), I’ll ask you:
The space is about 6 ft square and, aside from the sun it gets from straight up (both buildings are about three stories tall), there's not a lot of natural light. Do you have any suggestion of things I could plant or use to make the space more inviting? Anything budget-friendly is always great. How do-able is this, people?