Tatton Park diary

It is pouring with rain when we get to the site today, but the weather soon clears up and it turns into another hot and sunny day.

The base of the tree is already in, as are the black mountains. We bubble wrap the mountains to protect them while we work on the rest of the garden.

The main job for today is putting together the tree – the Spirit of Glyndŵr. Of course nothing is simple and the tree doesn’t go together easily. Adjustments have to be made and even once we’re satisfied that it has fitted together correctly, we’re still not completely happy with the shape.

After a bit of debate it is decided that one of the large branches should be removed, so Peter sets to work with the saw. There’s no turning back now. If we’re wrong the whole balance of the tree will be affected.

Not to worry though, our instincts were correct and the tree looks great. Quite a few people stop to admire it and it’s fast becoming a landmark on the site – we’re told that people are navigating from the tree. A couple of other exhibitors stop their car to admire it and pronounce it ‘cool’.

By the afternoon we’ve unloaded the plants and given them a long drink of water. They start to perk up and are looking much better by the end of the day, although there’s a huge amount of dead-heading to do.

So it’s to beginning to come together now. We’ve started to spread the white gravel and we expect to start planting on Friday. So far it’s looking great. As for the tree, what can I say... it’s cool!