Mary Gardens: Flowers for Our Lady

I want creation to penetrate you with so much admiration that everywhere, wherever you may be, the least plant may bring to yon the clear remembrance of the Creator. If you see the grass of the fields, think of human nature, and remember the comparison of the wise Isaiah. "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." Truly the rapid flow of life, the short gratification and pleasure that an instant of happiness gives a man, all wonderfully suit the comparison of the prophet. To-day he is vigorous in body, fattened by luxury, and in the prime of life, with complexion fair like the flowers, strong and powerful and of irresistible energy; tomorrow and he will be an object of pity, withered by age or exhausted by sickness...

..."Let the earth bring forth the fruit tree yielding fruit." Immediately the tops of the mountains were covered with foliage: paradises were artfully laid out, and an infinitude of plants embellished the banks of the rivers. Some were for the adornment of man's table; some to nourish animals with their fruits and their leaves; some to provide medicinal help by giving us their sap, their juice, their chips, their bark or their fruit. In a word, the experience of ages, profiting from every chance, has not been able to discover anything useful, which the penetrating foresight of the Creator did not first perceive and call into existence. Therefore, when you see the trees in our gardens, or those of the forest, those which love the water or the land, those which bear flowers, or those which do not flower, I should like to see you recognising grandeur even in small objects, adding incessantly to your admiration of, and redoubling your love for the Creator. Ask yourself why He has made some trees evergreen and others deciduous; why, among the first, some lose their leaves, and others always keep them. Thus the olive and the pine shed their leaves, although they renew them insensibly and never appear to be despoiled of their verdure. The palm tree, on the contrary, from its birth to its death, is always adorned with the same foliage. Think again of the double life of the tamarisk; it is an aquatic plant, and yet it covers the desert. Thus, Jeremiah compares it to the worst of characters -- the double character.

"Let the earth bring forth." This short command was in a moment a vast nature, an elaborate system. Swifter than thought it produced the countless qualities of plants. It is this command which, still at this day, is imposed on the earth, and in the course of each year displays all the strength of its power to produce herbs, seeds and trees. Like tops, which after the first impulse, continue their evolutions, turning upon themselves when once fixed in their centre; thus nature, receiving the impulse of this first command, follows without interruption the course of ages, until the consummation of all things. Let us all hasten to attain to it, full of fruit and of good works; and thus, planted in the house of the Lord we shall flourish in the court of our God, in our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Benedict had a rose garden ("rosary") at his monastery in the 4th c., but the first garden we know of that was specifically dedicated to Mary was one created by the Irish St. Fiacre in the 7th c. The earliest record of a garden explicitly called a "Mary Garden" involves a "fifteenth century monastic accounting record of the purchase of plants "for S. Mary's garden" by the sacristan of Norwich Priory, in England." ¹

Before the rise of Christendom, many flowers were associated with pagan deities -- Diana, Juno, Venus, etc. -- but when the "Age of Faith" ascended and superceded the pagan, these flowers were "christened" and re-dedicated to Christian themes. So many flowers were named for Jesus, Mary, the angels, holy places, etc. -- enough such that you can create a garden focused on specific aspects of Mary and Jesus' lives, such as His Passion or her sorrows. Enchanting names, like "Our Lady's Tears" (spiderwort), "Christ's-Cross Flower" (Summer phlox), "Joseph's Coat" (Amaranthus), "Pentecost Rose" or "Mary's Rose" (peony), and "Our Lady's Mantle" (Morning Glory), abounded. Sadly, during the Protestant rebellion and the rise of secularism, many of these flowers were re-named yet again with more wordly names but, of course, these flowers still exist and to many Catholic gardeners, their religious names are still meaningful.

The dedication booklet for Pennsylvania's St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish's Mary Garden includes the following, which will give you an idea about how Mary Gardens recall the lives of Mary and Jesus. The booklet asks the reader to visit the garden and think of Mary:

You can plant flowers whose names and form evoke the Fourteen Stations of the Cross or the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary so that by walking through your garden you not only enjoy its natural beauty, but practically "make the Stations" or "walk the Rosary," turning your backyard , schoolyard, or churchyard into a holy shrine (especially when accented with beautiful statuary).

If you don't have lots of room, you can make mini-gardens on your patio or apartment's balcony, or grow miniature plants in dishes or terraria for inside your home (nice gifts for the homebound!). If you do have lots of room, especially if you live in the country, consider setting up a little roadside shrine and garden so people passing by can stop and rest at a beautiful sacred place.

Below is a table of modern common names, scientific names, and medieval, religious names and meanings of flowers, plants, and shrubs, along with a few other plants relevant to our Lord's life. Separately below in the table, you'll find the same for herbs. The month associated with those flowers deemed as "birth flowers" have the birth months rendered in (italicized parentheses):

As you plan your garden, consider planting, depending on where you live, the following to help the liturgical year come alive:

Make your garden a place of peace and beauty. Make it a place where you can rest comfortably, perhaps with windchimes or a fountain to make for a relaxing soundscape, a fire pit so you can enjoy it at night and when things get cooler, etc.

See also this site's Catholic Library to find "The Mystical Flora of St. Francis de Sales," a collection of the Saint's musings on plants.

When you plant your Mary Garden, let's hope it comes to be visited by some of "Our Lady's Birds" -- ladybugs, named for Mary when, according to medieval legend, they miraculously came to save crops from aphids. The red color of the "Lady Beetle's" body is symbolic of her red cloak, and the 7 black spots found on some species in Europe represent her 7 Sorrows. Lady Bugs are almost universally considered symbols of "good luck" because of the benefits they bring to man. ² You might want to pray to St. Fiacre, patron of gardeners, for God to send some of these critters your way...

Idea: my father, R.I.P., was a great lover of trees, and when his children were little, he planted a tree for each of us (sugar maples). This is a lovely idea, and one that is likely to make your children more attentive to the natural world.

Tip: you can make flower pots and cement objects, like statues, look more ancient and interesting by inviting moss to grow on them. To do this, mix a quart of buttermilk, a pint of pulverized wood-land moss, a pint of composted manure, and a little Miracle-Grow. Paint onto object with a paintbrush and set the object in a cool, shady place. Keep it moist by spritzing with water or stale beer.

Footnotes:
¹ Some of the information for this page comes from Mary Gardens website, now found at the University of Dayton's Marian Library.

² Just for fun: "They say" that the nursery rhyme most in the English-speaking world grew up with (see below) comes from medieval farmers burning their fields to clear them for the next sowing season:

³ The evidence of many plant species have been found, either visibly, in pollen form, or both, on the Shroud of Turin. Six of these are below:

	Chrysanthemum coronarium The "Crown Daisy" was laid on His Body when He was entombed. It's the most prominent flower seen in the Shroud, and it blooms between March and May when the Crucifixion took place. The flower appears in many Jesus icons (ex. the 6th c. Pantocrator icon at St. Catherine's Monastery in Egypt and a 7th century solidus coin minted under Justinian II).
	Zygophyllum dumosum Zygophyllum dumosum leaves and flowers are visible in the image, too, and its pollen has been found in the Shroud also. This is the second most prominent flower found in the Shroud's image.
	Capparis aegyptia Flowers of this plant open up between Noon and sunset. The flowers visible in the Shroud indicate a time of around 4PM.
	Cistus creticus Many pollen grains of this lovely flower, also known as "Rock Rose," have been found on the Shroud, which support the identification of an unclear image of what appears to be this flower on the Shroud.
	Gundelia tournefortii Gundelia tournefortii pollen is found in abundance on the Holy Shroud. It is believed by some experts to be one of the plants that, when dried, made up the crown of thorns.
	Sarcopeterium spinosa This plant, too, is thought to make up the crown of thorns.