Many of us have been spending time at home during lockdown looking at ways of improving our outside space – and Googling some surprising home improvement topics.

According to a new study of average monthly search volumes on Google by Mojo Mortgages, there was a 90 per cent increase in ‘how to’ searches during April.

Searches for one particular outdoor garden feature experienced the biggest increase by far, with ‘how to build a pergola’ up by a whopping 950 per cent over the 30-day period.

This was followed by ‘how to get a pallet’ (550 per cent), ‘how to use compost’ (500 per cent) and ‘how to put down artificial turf’ (350 per cent).

‘How to…’ topics with the biggest increase in searches

Build a pergola - 950%

Get a pallet - 550%

Use compost - 500%

Put down artificial turf - 350%

Do decking - 300%

Lay a concrete slab - 300%

Build a fire pit - 300%

Do fence panelling - 250%

Create a patio - 250%

Make a bird feeder - 250%

Fence paint has also been trending on Google, with dark oak, slate grey, sage and autumn gold colours proving the most popular search queries.