Forget the stone lions and prize azaleas, one in five Britons (20%) say that if they could add one thing to their garden it would be a fountain. It also looks like the great British gnome is heading for extinction, according to a new study from Goldfish, the financial services provider.

With Britons estimated to be spending up to £3.3 billion a year on their gardens, and the rising popularity of TV outdoor makeover programmes, gardening is big business.

However the research suggests that a new breed of gardener is emerging, those who are not content with merely tending their vegetable patch or pottering in the shed. The millennium gardener is far more experimental and is adding ‘designer’ touches to the humble garden, for example 16% dream of installing a ‘Footballers' Wives’ style jacuzzi in their back yard.

Goldfish asked a GB representative sample of 2,000 people how they would improve their gardens, if they could add one thing and cost was not an issue. The results show:

Key Findings:

• From Trevi to Tregaron: With Charlie Dimmock famed for incorporating aquatic extravaganzas into any size of garden, and the winning design for the Princess of Wales Memorial being a water feature, fountains are currently top of the wish list for UK gardeners (20%). The Welsh are the most "fountain friendly", with over a quarter (27%) of the region dreaming of their very own Trevi fountain.
• Hot tub: Despite the vagaries of the British weather, in an ideal world 16% of people would choose to install a jacuzzi in their garden. This effervescent pastime appeals most to younger age groups, with almost half of 16-19 year olds (48%) and 29% of 20 year olds dreaming of an outside spa. People living in the West Midlands are the country's biggest jacuzzi fanatics (24%).
• Summerhouse: 14% of people would like to erect a summerhouse or pagoda in their garden, with women keener than men (16% vs. 13%) perhaps desiring a more feminine structure than the traditional shed. Northerners are the most likely to choose this option, Londoners least (7%) possibly due to lack of space.
• Garden Furniture: We all dream of the perfect summer evening dining in the garden, but only 13% of the population said that if they could they would buy top of the range garden furniture to while away the hours.
• Garden Shed: While there was a time when the garden shed was traditionally "Dad's refuge", apparently the shed has undergone a makeover, with many people spending thousand of pounds on the structures. However, while one in six people in Britain owns a shed, when it comes to designing their Gardens of Eden, Brits put the good old garden shed way down the wish list, with only 10% of them choosing this option. That said, it is still the domain of the male of the species, with men more keen than women (11% vs. 9%).
• Greenhouse: 9% of people dream of a greenhouse for their gardens, with men more enthusiastic than women (11% vs. 7%). Wales is the UK's greenhouse capital (15%).
• Plants: While many people are thinking of the more designer additions to their gardens, the research shows that people are turning away from the traditional look - with only 5% dreaming of adding exotic trees to their garden and a mere 4% a vegetable patch. Only vegetation-starved Londoners buck the trend with a healthy 8% wanting to grow their own.
• Gnomes: While garden gnomes are a regular feature of thousands of gardens in the UK, it would appear that they will soon be hanging up their fishing rods and heading for the Job Centre. Only 1% of people say they'd like to add a gnome to their home.

Charlie Herbert, Marketing Director at Goldfish, comments:

"The good news is that people have exciting and ambitious plans for their gardens, and it's interesting that the humble fountain now appears in a multitude of forms and is the most popular garden addition. Indeed, the Goldfish Garden at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show boasts a water feature at the heart of its Mediterranean design.”

"But the top choices in this survey are all fairly expensive and this may be persuading people to put their plans on hold. In these cases, a flexible loan that has no early repayment penalties could give the green-fingered the garden they want now, while allowing them to pay for it as soon as the money becomes available."