Nicknames

Accordingly they gave nicknames to many of these plants, and these names spread throughout Christendom, probably through monasteries, which were centers of learning, agriculture, and hospitality for travelers.

These names gave gardens and gardening a new spiritual dimension. People began to grow gardens of flowers and herbs chosen especially for their association with Our Lady and which were set aside as places of prayer and meditation as well as providing flowers for the adornment of altars and homes on feast days. These gardens came to be known as Mary Gardens.

Gardening itself is a work of great dignity. Through it we expand our knowledge of God’s creation, we learn to nurture it, and we are responsible for our stewardship of it. A Mary Garden, moreover, leads us further into meditations on our Mother Mary.

As I read in one book whose name I have forgotten, medieval Christians felt that nothing could surpass flowers in suggesting “the immaculateness of her purity, the beauty of her holiness, or the splendor of her heavenly glory.

Herbs and Flowers

“Similarly, fragrant herbs and flowers were unexcelled in recalling her spiritual sweetness; soothing and healing herbs, her heavenly mercy and succor and bitter and sour herbs, her bitter sorrows.”

This is a devotion which is not book-bound but is rather founded in popular culture. And it is a tradition which is wonderfully available to everyone, even children.

We can dig the soil and, as the sun warms our backs, we can experience the excitement of growing things. Now is the moment to touch and smell the rose and to remind ourselves that Mother Mary is the Mystical Rose who loved God in his sorrow on the cross and in his joy of resurrection.

Her Tresses

Mary, who bears the title “Garden Enclosed,” has become associated with many flowers for many different reasons. For some there is the fancied resemblance to Mary’s eyes, tresses, hands, fingers, or to her mantle, smock, belt, shoes, pins, needles or thread.
Some flowers come into bloom around the time of certain Marian feast days. Snowdrops were in bloom in England for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin (Candlemas Day) on February 2nd.

So on that day the pure white blooms were strewn around the statue of Our Lady as a symbol of her unstained purity. Snowdrops are known as Purification Flowers, Candlemas Bells, Our Lady of February, and the Virgin’s Flower.

Roses and rose-like flowers (such as peonies) have a long and special relationship with Our Lady. The rose is a symbol of Mary’s love of God. Mary has been called the Rose of Sharon and the Mystical Rose by Church Fathers. Roses were present in her appearances both at Guadalupe and Lourdes.

The lily, too, is strongly associated with Our Lady. Venerable Bede called it her emblem with the white petals symbolizing her pure body and the golden anther the beauty of her soul.

Then there is the myrtle which symbolizes Mary’s virginity, violets her humility, and marigolds her heavenly glory.

The rosary, too has its flowers: the Madonna Lily (Annunciation), Our Lady’s Slippers (Visitation), Our Lady’s Bedstraw (Nativity), the Assumption Lily (Assumption), and Mary’s Crown (The Crowning of Our Lady).

In general, white flowers symbolize Mary’s joys, red flowers her sorrows, and yellow flowers her glories.

Every year I weeded mullein out of my vegetable garden (it’s a wild flower where I live). Then when I learned about Mary Gardens, I learned that mullein is known as Our Lady’s Candle. Now I leave some of it in my garden, and every time I see mullein growing wild in some desolate field I think of our Lady.

There are many lovely folk legends about various plants. Here are a few:

After the Star had stopped in the sky above Bethlehem, it burst into thousands of bright fragments. These fell to the ground and were transformed into flowers which indicated to the Magi the holiness of the place. These flowers are called Star of Bethlehem.

According to another legend, white markings on Our Lady’s Thistle (and certain other plants) appeared when drops of Mary’s milk fell on them while she was nursing Jesus.

According to still another, Our Lady’s Tears appeared when Mary wept at the foot of the cross. And the flowers of the rosemary bush were originally white, but were turned into varying shades of blue when Mary hung her cloak over a rosemary bush.

Bedstraw

The herbs thyme, marjoram and tansy, called Our Lady’s Bedstraw, were reputed to have been present in the straw of the manger at Bethlehem. Golden chrysanthemum, growing outside the house, identified the home of the Christ Child for the Magi. Picking the flowers as their first gift, the Magi entered and laid them in the outstretched hand of the Child, who was with his mother Mary.

Fragrant roses and lilies were said to be found in Our Lady’s tomb after she ascended into heaven.

The Mary Garden can take many forms, as elaborate or as simple as you choose to make it. Its basic elements are few: a statue (one made for outdoor use) as the focal point, and the flowers of Our Lady around it.

A Seat

You can begin with flowers and herbs you are already familiar with and add to them as the years pass. And a seat or bench of some kind turns your Mary Garden into a comfortable place for solitude and prayer.

You can even make an indoor Mary Garden, for there are houseplants which bear Our Lady’s name as well. A small statue of Our lady settled into a pot of African Violets or placed right next to it, for example, gives you a Mary Garden—an inspiration towards prayer.

There may be as many as a thousand such plants. For lists of them and for more information about Mary Gardens, we refer you to the website: www.mgardens.org