On the Square
This garden has been designed to embody the Freemasons’ values in the 21st century. Its title On the Square pertains to a phrase used by Freemasons to encompass their core values of honesty, reliability and acting honourably to all mankind.
The predominant colours of the planting scheme are blue and white, with the blue representing universal beneficence and the white representing purity of motives. The travertine paving, which features strategically placed Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, evokes the Masonic carpet that symbolises our chequered existence on earth, the light and darkness and the joys and sorrows of life.
The garden is dominated by the square and suspended compass, the emblem of Freemasons. This emblem reminds the Freemason to regulate his daily actions towards God and man by being open, honest and law-abiding, and keeping within all due bounds with his fellow creatures. The water feature represents charity, with the fall of water signifying the flow of charity to the needy.
The open aspect of the garden and its contemplative nature make this design ideally suited for relocation to a Masonic retirement home in Hertfordshire after the show, which is home to 55 residents.