Floral artistry at National attributed to Quaker Oats founder

When patrons have visions of Augusta National Golf Club, golf often comes to mind second behind the course.

The rolling hills. The towering pines. The blooming azaleas. Ah, the flowers. But who’s responsible for the flower arrangement at Augusta National? According to Augusta Chronicle archives, credit should be largely given to Henry Parsons Crowell, a deeply religious business man from Illinois. Crowell, of Chicago, founded the Quaker Oats Company in 1901 and was renowned nationwide for his philanthropy, as well as popularizing oatmeal across the U.S.

In Augusta, he was known for gardening. Like many wealthy northerners in the 1920s, Crowell spent summers in Chicago before venturing to Augusta from Dec­ember to May. The businessman purchased a home on Cumming Road, a short distance from Walton Way and Augusta Country Club, and it was here Crowell became intrigued with growing flowers.

Crowell’s personal garden was so magnificent that S.A. Thompson, the secretary of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, visited Cumming Road in 1931 and said, “Why any man who lives here would want to go to any other heaven, I can’t see. For Henry Crowell has heaven at home.”

Crowell’s garden caught the eye of Augusta National co-founders Bob Jones and Clifford Roberts, who asked Crowell to be a landscape artist for the course grounds. He was officially given the title as chairman of the beautification committee in 1932 – two years before the inaugural Masters Tournament.

From the late 1920s through mid-1930s, Crowell became ­somewhat of a hero in Richmond County. He would open his home for tours, host dinner parties and invite authors to speak on Cumming Road. Even the Augusta Chronicle printed when the businessman returned and departed from Chicago.

On Dec. 10, 1931, The Chronicle stated: “Henry Crowell has returned from the north and opened his home on Cumming Road.” On May 26, 1932, The Chronicle printed: “Mr. Henry P. Crowell has gone to Chicago and will not return to his home on Cumming Road until the fall.”

Between December of 1931 and May of 1932, Crowell and Louis Berckmans (son of Prosper Berckmans, the owner of Fruitland Nursery) spent countless hours at Augusta National, selecting which shrubs and flowers would be placed.

Crowell and Berckmans planted more than 4,000 plants and trees in the spring of 1932, including azaleas, dogwoods, honey suckle and magnolias. No bud placement came without intent.

According to Augusta Chron­icle archives, a 1932 article stated, “Mr. Crowell is giving the Augusta National Golf Club the benefit of his great knowledge in shrubs and flowers and it will interest our community to know that the planting of shrubs and flowers about the various greens on the 18 hole course will be after a plan. There will be flowers of particular type and hue about each one of the 18 holes and they will be planted with the perfect view of harmony and color.” ­

Crowell was an underwriter for Augusta National Golf Club and remained a presence in Augusta until his death in 1943.

In April of 1932, The Chronicle wrote, “We want Mr. Crowell to know before he goes on his annual summer visit North just how much Augusta appreciates him. Certainly no community has ever had a finer citizen.”