No wonder, then, that the Pantone Colour Institute - the arbiter of all things taste-related when it comes to colour - has chosen a shade called ‘Greenery’ (Fashion and Home Ref number #15-0343) as 2017’s colour of the year, designed to reflect the current cultural climate. According to the colour gurus at Pantone, Greenery is a ‘fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring, when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew, adding that ‘Greenery is nature’s neutral’.

Have a pile of dog-eared books that haven’t been shown any love in a long time? They can be made into absolutely gorgeous planters for succulents. All you have to do is carefully cut out a hole in the top of the book using a scalpel, line it (bin liner will do) and plant away. Ideal if you have hardbacks, as paperbacks work less well, also try to co-inside the cover with the new pantone colour if possible.

There’s a genius way to recycle your old bottles other than chucking them in the green (sorry, not sorry) bin, and all you’ll need is one can of white and one can of pantone green spray paint. Tap into the ombre trend and give the bottles a colour-fade effect by pulling the spray can further away as you go up the bottle. Don’t worry if it’s messy - it’s all part of the design. You’ll transform your bottles from drab to fab and make lovely vases or candle holders to decorate your home.

Garden furniture can often be left alone all winter without getting much love and is really expensive to replace. Give it an instant update by sanding, priming, painting and treating it with your favourite pantone green. Or simply just recover some old cushions with pantone green fabric to make it nice and cosy and give it that instant boost. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than starting afresh.  

Installing a water butt in your garden or roof in order to collect and store water could reduce your council’s water strain. Less than 3% of the average household’s annual water consumption is estimated to be from garden use, but this can shoot up to 70% in peak times.

The RHS estimates that, even in dry districts, 24,000 litres (5,280 gallons or 150 water butts) could be collected from a roof each year, which can be stored to get you through summer. Considering how quick and easy they are to install, it’s a real game changer when the weather is good. We’ve got our fingers crossed.

The good news? All you have to do is drill a hole the size of a water butt tap into the side of a wheelie bin, file of any rough edges around the hole and securing the water butt, securing it in place with a plastic butt. Then secure a short pipe into a drilled hole at the top of the wheelie bin using a drill, which will allow the water to flow through. Simples! And this means you have water when there’s a hosepipe ban and potentially save money on your water bill.

Drafts are not only irritating, they can be expensive and bad for the environment because they encourage us to crank up the heating. Thankfully, you can make an absolutely genius draft excluder using only a scrap of material (green again please), some stuffing and an old pair of tights.

Failing that, rugs are a brilliant way to not only keep pesky drafts at bay, but keep floor heat insulated and it's very easy to dye an inexpensive rug your favourite shade of green using carpet dye. Just make sure to check that the carpet is properly cleaned - you might want to invest in a steam clean - before you begin.