The first and most important task was to position the tea house.
My selected site was a corner of the garden looking over the lake. Although such a view would not typically be found in a tea garden, it seemed pointless to ignore it. The front of the tea house would face away from the corner - roughly south-west to face the early evening summer sun. Again, although a traditional tea house would usually face north, this was just not practicable and also not very desirable for a summer house.
The position also meant that the tea house would be flanked by two mature eucalyptus trees. This was potentially attractive, but did mean that it was essential to position the tea house extremely carefully. Although at the time I thought I had done so, you will see later that I was not quite careful enough.
The ground was reasonably level and, although sandy soil, fairly firm.
The photo shows the corner positions marked out roughly with pegs – sufficiently accurate to ensure adequate clearance from trees and rear fence and square.
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