Until the Met Office’s hasty revisions last week, the promise of a “barbecue summer” had led may homeowners to loosen their pursestrings and spend more on their gardens in an effort to make the most of their “staycation”.

This may explain the jump in sales (50 per cent higher than this time last year) of wicker furniture from Oxley, the luxury garden furniture manufacturer. Oxley’s bestsellers are armchairs, up 150 per cent, and sunloungers, up 100 per cent. With prices such as £325 for an armchair, or £695 for a chaise longue-style lounger, it seems that staycationers are willing to spend significant sums to ensure that time spent in the garden is as comfortable as possible, and to give a little taste of the country-house lifestyle that remains out of reach for most buyers.

Garden companies have been taking advantage of this summer’s staycation trend. Small online retailers such as The Balcony Gardener have popped up, while existing companies have expanded their businesses. As well as selling traditional garden equipment, these companies stock furniture and accessories, such as glass mobiles, decorative bird houses and designer solar lighting, as customers seek more imaginative ways to personalise their gardens.

Isabelle Palmer, the founder of The Balcony Gardener, says: “Outdoor space, whatever the size, is now seen as an extension of the home and a space that reflects personal taste, while being a haven for relaxation, entertainment and enjoyment.”

One aspect of this is the British adoption of a pastime more popular in warmer climes: watching films in the garden. While outdoor screens are a familiar sight for residents of Sydney and Los Angeles, Britons are only now getting in on the act, erecting screens and projectors and watching their favourite films from cushions and loungers while devouring the spoils of a barbecue.

Perhaps inspired by Summer Screen, the outdoor cinema in the courtyard of Somerset House, in Central London, families are saving money by staying in the garden rather than going out to eat or to see a film. Sky Movies thinks the popularity of the garden screening is here to stay and is outlining how to set up an outdoor screen on its website (skymovies.com/ gardencinema).

With wet weather forecast for much of August, this may all seem rather optimistic. Perhaps the next garden bestseller will be the supersized weatherproof gazebo.

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