Order of Free Gardeners | Community organisation

Order of Free Gardeners

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25.01.2022 Vale Brother Trevor Rowe Grand Chaplain. Honorary Grand Master.... (Victoria, Australia) A Free Gardener for over 70 years, whose commitment and dedication to the order in Victoria was unwavering. A wonderful friend and Brother. Brother Trevor passed away peacefully on Wednesday July 8 2020, after a short illness. Our love and sympathy to Barbara and family. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.

18.01.2022 Thanks to Bro. Bob Cooper, Lecture 12: The origins and history of the Order of Free Gardeners.

16.01.2022 Another beautiful Free Gardeners apron.

16.01.2022 The Free Gardeners Stone 2020 by James Winnett ... The stone's carvings draw on the rich symbolism of the Free Gardeners, a fraternal society founded in Haddington in 1676 which grew to have lodges all over the country and over 10,000 members in the Lothians alone. The 8ft sandstone block was carved as part of a public art commission supported by Persimmon Homes through East Lothian Council’s Percent for Art scheme. I became fascinated with the story of the Free Gardeners, their rich symbolism, regalia and the artefacts they left behind. I wondered how a public artwork might make a tangible connection to these ideas while referencing other links to local history and folklore. The Ancient Order of Free Gardeners, as they became known, bought a tenement in Haddington as their base which became the Gardeners Arms. They functioned like an early trade union or mutual aid society with support for the poor while also holding floral exhibitions, tree planting ceremonies and colourful parades. The carvings on the stone include several Free Gardener symbols such as the compass, set square and pruning knife alongside depictions of the tree of life, 'Jock in the Green' and the four rivers of the Garden of Eden. Haddington's goat can be seen climbing the tree of knowledge. The former Mitsubishi factory which stood on the site is referenced in the form of a beehive with three oak leaves as a nod to the origins of the Mitsubishi crest. The north face of the stone is covered in plant fossils from over 300 million years ago including Lepidodendron and Calamites - two of the oldest group living vascular plants. Within the fossils are three carvings representing these massive tree-like forms which grew to 30-50 metres and were the most important contributors to the great coal beds that fuelled the Industrial Revolution

09.01.2022 Bro Gardener Ritchie presenting a donation from the Free Gardeners of Scotland, Mormond Hill Lodge no 10 to Peterhead lifeboat station. It's a small token of our appreciation of the amazing task they do!

02.01.2022 Not quite #Masonic, this dramatic, oversized blue silk apron has its origins in the Order of the Free Gardeners Society, founded in Scotland in the 17th century... to promote and regulate the #gardening profession. The society resembled #Freemasonry in its lodges, lodge officers, and Grand Lodge. During the 19th century, the Free Gardeners even adopted many symbols of Freemasonry including the square, compass, and grafting knife. SEE MORE intricate folk art items in the Sept/Oct 2019 issue of #CaliforniaFreemason: californiafreemason.org/craftingtheirlegacy #FromtheArchives #throwbackthursday #MasonsofCA #tbt