Horticulture in Freemasonry Pt. 2

by Midnight Freemason Contributor

Bro. Cory Missimore

Author note: Recently I presented on how freemasonry, both speculative and operative, can be found in the noble art of horticulture. This article, two of three, contains a deeper explanation of the presentation.

In our previous article, we discussed how gardening and Freemasonry are connected. There, we discussed how the design of the garden and objects placed within could convey a message and a connotation. Like operative and speculative masonry, we need to look beyond the obvious and derive more profound meaning. With this initial principle accepted, let us look at the structures, architecture, and objects built or placed within a garden to further demonstrate the subtle but influential hand freemasonry has had in gardening and horticulture. 

Freemasonry's effects on gardening can be traced as early as the 18th century and the rise of the English garden. The English Garden, also known as an English landscape garden, is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England during the 18th century, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Jardin à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. Where in the past, gardens separated nature from man, an English garden instead allowed nature and man to intermingle and mature together.  

The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. The garden-style usually included a lake, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape.

Examples of the English garden with a clear connection to Freemasonry include the Chiswick House had many formal elements of a garden à la française, including alleys forming a patte d'oie (a central point from which three distinct paths originated from, yet tied together.) This can be an amalgamation of the three degrees. Inside the garden was a template designed with the Ionic, with an obelisk nearby. The obelisks in Freemasonic symbolism were associated with the sun and astronomical wonders. They can be considered symbols of continuity, power, stability, resurrection, and immortality. At Stourhead garden, this symbolism of the obelisk is reinforced by a copper sun or "mythra," which surmounted it.

At the Temple of British Worthies at Stowe, there is a stepped pyramid over the central block. Within the oval niche of the pyramid was a bust of Mercury. Mercury is an essential figure for freemasons. His Greek name was Hermes--the messenger of the Gods, the herald and keeper of mysteries, and the god of trial and initiation. He is also called Trismegistus, the Thrice-Greatest Hermes--identified with Euclid (and hence with Pythagoras) and after whom, Hermetic (or Egyptian) wisdom was named.

It has even been suggested that this temple served as a lodge for certain members to meet and socialize. 

The English garden presented an idealized view of nature. The garden-style usually included a lake, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, and recreations of classical temples, Gothic ruins, bridges, and other picturesque architecture, designed to recreate an idyllic pastoral landscape.

Stourhead Gardens is based on the garden of Virgil's Aeneid, which tells the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas. This hero, who, after the fall of Troy, made a long voyage around the Mediterranean and finally landed in Italy. He later became the founder of Rome. With its difficulties and moments of despair, hope, and revelation, Aeneas's journey is reproduced allegorically in the garden through a series of temples, grottoes, tunnels, bridges, and other features, all grouped around an artificial lake.

In addition to the structures and designs of the gardens is the art of the buildings themselves. The Temple of Apollo at Stourhead Gardens has columns that resemble the corinthian and adorned with chapters of acanthus. Here, even the columns pay homage to the noble phases of architecture, honored by Freemasonry. 

In reviewing this gardening message, we can see Freemasonry is found not only in its design and purpose but also in the man-made constructs within. Growing from the design and placement of motifs in a garden and the architecture within, we will next look at the final component of traditional gardens, the plants, and flowers found within in our next and final essay. 

Bro. Cory Missimore is a Freemason out of Silver Spring MD. He currently serves as the Senior Deacon of the Silver Spring Lodge #215. He is a husband and father of two, works full time in cybersecurity, and is also an amateur sleuth in masonic research. He can be reached at cmissimore@gmail.com.