Day 20

Stephen is doing more planting.

Ray is working hard on breaking up the compacted soil to lay the turf, whilst Simon and Tom are setting lighting into the pergola.

Steven from Cube Lighting is doing more wiring, balancing on the pool edge behind Neil Wilkins' weeping trees.

Mary Barkham is planting up the entrance bed.

A bundle of activity on site. Janet is making the soft furnishing for the tables in the sponsor tent - tables which Ray made earlier in the day.

I am planting Night Scented Stock, grown by Wood Green School.

Armando from Treebox is watering the living wall full of herbs and some succulent strawberries, tomatoes and chillies provided by Sutton Seeds.

Chris and Ray make woven oak screens which will be used to frame the living wall.

The outside scalloped raised beds are complete. Stone, which has been sealed to bring out the colour, is from Brett Landscaping. Planters are from Absolute Planters, Ivy screens from Treebox, and Oak trees from Nicholsons in Oxfordshire.

Swan Planters.

A big thank you has to be given to John and his team from Paramount Paving for their help in building the raised beds, sealing the stone (together with Jon Mattias of Brett Landscaping and his father), giving them a wonderfully darker patina, and their generous help in placing all the containers level in all of the beds. Their help was a real blessing. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

Hour glass and Curvy S.

The entrance to the garden is finished, we just need to uncover the paving.

We are getting to the end of the planting and starting to tidy away what we haven't used. These plants will be stored outside the marquee in case some are needed to refresh existing plants towards the end of the week.

This afternoon the electricity was connected. The generators could be switched off and the grow lights finally gave solid light instead of flickering. We can now start to test how the planting can be lit up.