Mona Lisa mown into suburban garden lawn

Tania Ledger from Croydon in south London employed a 3D art expert who reconstructed the famous painting for the The Da Vinci Code film to do the same in her garden.

Chris Naylor took two days to replicate Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece in grass, using a small lawnmower and a handful of garden tools.

The design will grow out within a few weeks but Mrs Ledger, 48, says that is what made the project so exciting.

“It’s like a hair cut - if you don't like it you can grow it out and you can try out as many new looks as you like,” she said.

"Having experimented with topiary already, my lawn seemed like the perfect blank canvas to host my next creation."

Garden art, previously considered the preserve of manor houses and stately homes, is becoming increasingly popular among domestic gardeners, according to Clare Foggett of Garden News.

"Many of the gardens at this year's Chelsea Flower Show featured creative ideas that are easy to copy in your own gardens, such as beautiful cloud-pruned trees, where shrubby hornbeams were pruned Japanese-style to reveal their stems and the remaining growth shaped to form round 'clouds'."

A B&Q spokesman said: "We've certainly noticed a growing trend in decorative gardens this year.”