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      Mary's Gardens was founded in 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to research the hundreds of flowers named in medieval times as symbols of the life, mysteries and privileges of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus - as recorded by botanists, folklorists and lexicographers; and to assist in the planting of "Mary Gardens" of "Flowers of Our Lady" today.

				
				
Communications and requests for further information may be addessed to: - marysgardens@mgardens.org
			
				

			
		
		
NEW
       Reparation Through Flowers

RECENT
       Flower Mysticism for Divine Union and God's Kingdom
       Parish Rosary Gardens - in depth study
       Flower Meditations on the Five Luminous Mysteries
         of the Rosary

CHAT ROOM
       • John S. Stokes Jr., 1920-2007
       Mary Garden Chat and Photos

OVERVIEW
       Church Nature Symbols of Mary
       The Medieval Flowers of Our Lady
       Introductory Slide Lecture
       Introductory Annuals Mary Garden Pamphlet - Virtual Garden photo
       List of 100 Popular Flowers for Mary Gardens
       Mary Garden display at Pope John Paul II Cultural Center
       U.S National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Mary's Garden
       Book Review: "Mary's Flowers,  Gardens, Legends and 
       Meditations" by Vincenzina Krymow
       Book Review - The Liturgy of Flowers In A Mary Garden
       by Andrea Oliva Florendo
       Book Review - The Flowers of Exeter
       by Michael W. Tisdall
       Miniature Flower Photos
       Flower Cards
       Medieval Mary Garden Prints
       Medieval Mary Gardens
       The Richness of Medieval Plant Symbolism Today
       Mary Gardens for Today
       Bonnie Roberson, Mary Gardener of Love
       Representative Mary Gardens - Descriptions, Photos
       Historical Perspective
       Bible Gardens Revisited
       57 years of Mary's Gardens Articles

RESEARCH
       Research and Documentation
       Mary Flowers in France, Germany, Ireland, Latin America,
         the U.K., Spain

GARDENING
       Introductory Annuals Mary Garden Booklet
       Starting Your Mary Garden
       Mail Order Sources for Seeds and Plants
       Patio Container Mary Gardens
       Home Mary Gardens
       Parish Mary Garden Care
       Establishing and Maintaining a Parish Mary Garden
       Niche Mary Gardens For Religious Communities
       Indoor Dish Mary Gardens
       Indoor Windowsill Mary Gardens for Schools
       Computer-Aided Garden Design

GARDEN PRAYER & MEDITATION
       The Blessing of Mary Gardens as Holy Places
       Mary Garden Prayer
       Prayer For Grafters and Planters
       Twelve Flower Meditations for Introductory Annuals Mary Garden
       Flower Theology
       Flower Theology II
       The Passion Flower
       The Garden Way of the Cross
       The Garden Way of the Rosary
       Providential Images and Symbols of Our Lady
       Wayside Flowers and Shrines of Our Lady
       Flower and Human Symbols of the Trinity
       Parish Mary Gardens of Devotion and Prayerful Work
       Garden Consecration to Jesus Through Mary
       Garden Devotion To Mary - Union With Mary Through Her Flowers
       Parish and Shrine Mary Gardens
       Flowers of Mary's Appearances
       Flower Symbols of Mary on Earth and in Heaven
       Flower Symbols of Mary's Sorrows
       Seasonal Flower Reflections; Candlemas
       Virtual Mary Gardens
       Pope Reveals Mary's Place In His Life

POETRY & SONGS
       Poem - "Gardens Give Mary Glory"
       Poem - "The Marygold"
       Song - "I Am The Rose Of Sharon"

HOME & SCHOOLS EDUCATION
      Mary in the Garden
      Home Mary Garden
      Garden Catechism
      Garden Teaching of Religious Basics
      School Mary Gardens Through The Year, 1994
      Review - Teachers' Guide to Mary Gardens by Lisa Creamer
      St. Theresa's Parish School Mary Garden Start-Up
      Home School Mary Garden Projects
      Background Reference/Index for Teachers
      Assisting Children In Moving From Garden to World

INSPIRATION AND OUTREACH
       Mary Garden Literature Distribution
       Mary Garden Missionary
       You Can Help

ARCHIVAL
       Testimonials
       Mary's Gardens Press Files Listing 1946-1994 (Pre-Internet)
       57 Years of Developmental Articles
       Archive of Website Monthly "New" announcements
       Mary Garden Chat and Photos
       Developmental Correspondence
       Slide Lecture #1 - 1962

BACKGROUND

     The inspiration for this work was the first public Mary Garden
in the United States, at the Angelus Tower of St. Joseph's Church,
Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, established in 1932, comprised
of some fifty Flowers of Our Lady of the medieval countrysides of
England and beautifully maintained today.

     The initial means for spreading the Mary Garden idea, starting
in 1951, was to make available, through volunteer lay initiative,
"Our Lady's Garden" kits, with informative leaflet, packets of
seeds for Flowers of Our Lady, together with lists of additional
seeds, bulbs and plants obtainable through us - for the planting
and tending of Mary Gardens as a prayerful, religious work of
stewardship for God's flower riches and artistry with devotion,
praise, thanksgiving, meditation and commitment.   Proposed
first for home gardens, Mary Gardens soon became established
also at schools, parishes, burial plots, institutions and shrines.

     By 1965, our research, had documented over eight hundred
flowers named for Christ, Our Lady and the Saints, as listed in
"Mariana I", and "Tropicals Flowers, Trees and Shrubs for Mary"
Gardens", a sufficient variety of which were available from
commercial sources, so that we discontinued offering seeds,
bulbs and plants, and devoted our time (Mary's Gardens was
always a spare time, avocational, work) to research, writing and
consultation by mail.

     Early gardens of note in the first years of our work included
the roof Mary Garden of the Ambos Mundos Hotel in Havana, and Mary
Gardens at the high schools of the Diocese of Cotabata, and also the
Manilla Observatory, in the Philippines.

     Some of the better known Mary Gardens today are those at Our
Lady's national shrines at Knock, Ireland, and Akita, Japan; at the
Artane Oratory of the Resurrection in Dublin; and in the cloister
planting of Lincoln Cathedral in England.  Of special note in the
United States, in addition to the mother garden at Woods Hole, are
the Mary Gardens at St. Mary's Parish, Annapolis, Maryland, adjacent
to historic Carroll House, and St. Catherine of Siena Parish in
Portage, Michigan.

     The work of Mary's Gardens is carried forward today by an
informal association of committed persons in Pennsylvannia,
Massachusetts. Maryland, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland - this Internet
web site being opened on September 8, 1995 to make our literature
and photographs available in electronic form, now spreading our
work world-wide.

                              o O o

    Communications and requests for further information may be
addessed to: marysgardens@mgardens.org


All texts and graphics of web page and site copyright Mary's
Gardens, 1995.  All rights reserved.  Permission granted to
reproduce for promotion of the greater glory of God through
knowledge, honor, praise and veneration of, and through devotion
and recourse to, the Blessed Virgin Mary.