REPLANTING a tree proved to be a tougher job than normal for a

Newent-based gardening firm. In fact it was tree-mendously tricky.

It wasn't helped by the fact that the pine tree in question was still attached to a 10 tonne chunk of solid rock cut from the side of a Norwegian cliff. Driven half way across Norway, shipped to Hull and then driven under police escort to the Chelsea Flower Show, it played a short-lived but starring role in a Norwegian garden designed by Peter Dowle Plants and Gardens of Newent and sponsored by the Norwegian Embassy.

Having won two silver medals for two gardens, including a Provence garden, the question then arose – what to do with the tree?

The answer, uproot it from the flower show, drive it out of London on a flat bed lorry, take it up through the narrow lanes at Howle Hill near Ross-on-Wye, winch it into the air using a 100ft crane and then lift it gently into the firm's nursery at Howle Cross.

Despite the potential for a major logjam (so to speak) the whole operation went without a hitch.

Whether the 3 metre high tree will miss its Norwegian roots remains to be seen.

"It might not be quite as cold as Norway," says Luke Delaney from Peter Dowle. "But it still gets pretty cold on Howle Hill, and wet, so it probably will get to feel like home."

•Pinus Sylvestris, or Scots Pine, is only pine native to Northern Europe and flourishes across the whole of Scandinavia, including Finland. It can live to 700 years old.