Celebrating the English Poet and Picturesque Gardener William Mason: A Garden is the Greatest Refreshment to the Spirit

February 12, 1724 

Today is the birthday of the poet and gardener William Mason.

The Reverend William Mason was also a writer, artist, and garden designer.

Mason is remembered for creating the romance of the country house garden.

In 1775, at Nuneham ("NEW-Num"), near Oxford, England, Mason designed a flower garden for his friend Lord Harcourt.

This garden was a turning point for many and marked the beginning of what came to be known as romantic flower gardening.

Mason accomplished a radical change; straight lines in borders and beds were out. Circular beds were in.

With new elements in gardens like island beds, the plants were located away from the house.

Instead, plantings and beds were near outdoor garden buildings like temples, orangeries, or seating areas.

The garden at Nuneham became a model for others.

Mason's creation set the trend for English gardening, and Mason broadcast his ideas about romantic gardening in a very, very, very long poem called "The English Garden." It was released in segments over a decade, between 1772 and 1781.

Mason's target audience was the wealthy garden owners of his time. He was speaking directly to them when he wrote:

"Waste is not grandeur." 

and

"A garden is the purest of human pleasures; it is the greatest refreshment to the spirit of man."

Mason appealed to country estate owners, but his overall message was to throw out formal gardens in favor of romantic landscapes.

Now, the word romantic means a landscape that is wild or natural.

People referred to these romantic, natural, or wild landscapes as the picturesque garden during this time.

Today, gardeners delight in this little verse from Mason's poem.

It offers simple, resonating advice from William Mason to you:

Take thy plastic spade,

It is thy pencil.

Take thy seeds, thy plants,

They are thy colors.