With Christmas coming up, your focus may not be on your outdoor space, but it seems that for almost one-fifth of British homeowners, getting some work done in the garden is a priority at this time of year.

Research from AA Financial Services recently found that not only are British homeowners set to spend a whopping £29.6 billion on home improvements by the end of December, but that the second most popular project at this time of year is landscaping.

DIY Week reported on the survey, which revealed that nearly half of all households are planning some kind of home improvement project in the coming weeks.

Although decorating was the most likely DIY scheme, landscaping the garden was in second place, with 18 per cent stating that this is on their list to do in December.

On average, people plan to spend £887 having work done in the garden, although two per cent of those questioned said they intended to spend over £5,000.

This kind of job could be as simple as getting someone to do some hedge trimming in Manchester before you put up your outdoor Christmas lights, for instance.

Now isn’t a bad time of year to focus some of your attention on your outdoor space though. With stormy weather more likely in the winter, it’s important to ensure you’ve done all you can to protect any trees or hedges you’ve got in your garden.

You should check your trees for any signs of disease, and if you suspect they’ve been weakened as a result it’s worth calling in a tree surgeon to have a look and make sure the tree will be able to withstand the worst of the winter weather.