Mary Gardens

In medieval times, a charming custom arose of planting "Mary Gardens," small gardens consisting of flowers and herbs ascribed by love and legend as special tributes to the Blessed Virgin. Around the middle of the present century, this custom was revived in many places in Europe and the United States.İ

This spring, why not set aside a portion of your own garden as a Mary garden? Use your creativity to design your own special tribute to Our Lady. If you live in an apartment and have no place for an outdoor Mary Garden, directions for a miniature one are found at the end of this article. Make a complete plan for your garden before starting to plant. Don’t forget to check the hardiness and suitability of each plant to your area's climate.İ

Mary gardens combine nature with folk tales to pay tribute to the Madonna and to illustrate what the Church and Scripture teach about her. A statue of the Virgin occupies the place of honor. Statues of concrete, molded plastic, or ceramic are suitable for use outside, and are generally available at your local garden or religious goods store.İ

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe we used in the garden illustrated to the right was created by the sacred artist Enrique de la Vega from a new form of terra cotta colored cement. It is a replica of the clay model he used when making the lovely bronze madonna at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. View Enrique’s Guadalupe by clicking this link: http://www.catholic-sacredart.com/İ

We are fortunate to have a large garden area, so we placed other tributes to the Virgin in our yard; one is at the front of the house and the other is at the back of the garden area. These are pictured below to give you an idea of the variety in Mary gardens.

The original Mary gardens may have been a Christian outgrowth of pre-Christian nature rites celebrating spring. After the long, cold winter, our ancestors were filled with joy over the appearance of new growth in the spring, and they attributed special powers of protection and healing to them. They planted spring flower gardens and brought early-blooming plants into their homes, decorating themselves and their rooms with garlands and wreaths of flowers and blossoms. Although the Mary garden is usually geared toward springtime growth, a careful selection of plants can make it beautiful in every season of the year. Including both flowering plants for beauty and functional plants, such as herbs, makes the garden both aesthetically pleasing and practical.İ

The first formal Mary Garden in the United States is believed to be that at St. Joseph's Church in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 1932, Mrs. Frances Crane Lillie, a summer resident of Woods Hole, researched herbs and plants with old religious names that symbolized the Virgin Mary. She planted a selection of these in a garden at St. Joseph's church. After the first year of Mrs. Lillie's "Garden of Our Lady," revisions were made and in 1933 it was replanted with 48 specimens that were planted around a commissioned statue of the Virgin Mary in a cross-shaped bed. The Woods Hole garden was the inspiration for the foundation of an organization called Mary's Gardens, which began in Philadelphia in 1951 by two young businessmen, Edward A. G. McTague and John S. Stokes, Jr. The aim of the non-profit group is to revive the medieval practice of cultivating gardens of herbs and flowers which have Marian names and to research the hundreds of plants symbolic of the life, mysteries, and privileges of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The founders hope that people will plant Mary Gardens as a prayerful, religious work of stewardship for God, combining flower riches and artistry with devotion, praise, meditation, and commitment. Research by this foundation has resulted in a list of over a thousand herb, flower, shrub and tree names that are symbolic of Mary. Today, the work of Mary's Gardens is continued by an informal association of committed persons in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland. In 1995, the organization opened an internet web site to make their literature and photographs available in electronic form: http://www.mgardens.org/

A Miniature Mary Gardenİ

Apartment dwellers who do not have the luxury of a large yard can still honor Our Lady with a Mary Garden in miniature. The completed project will do well for some time in a bright window. If you use it as a table centerpiece, set it outside when it begins to look limp.İ

Select a container for your dish garden - clay, ceramic or plastic will work. Place a layer of charcoal in the bottom of the dish, which will serve to catch any excess water and will keep the soil smelling sweet. Charcoal that is used in aquarium filters works well, or simply break up some of your barbecue charcoal briquettes. Add a good quality potting soil. Use a statue of the Virgin that corresponds in size with your container. Small, inexpensive plastic and ceramic statues are available at your local religious goods store if you don't already have one. Arrange plants around the statue with the taller ones in the back. Plants that grow rapidly can be trimmed with scissors. In our Mary dish garden we used slow growing succulents that will do well as house plants. A miniature rosebush, a mini violet, spearmint and African violets would be beautiful, too. Rosemary, an herb dedicated to Our Lady, can even be trained over a miniature trellis. Your local nursery can suggest a variety of plants that grow well together and have similar requirements for light and water.

Some Christian Legends About Mary Garden Plants

Roses have been associated with Mary from earliest times. The word "rosary" originally meant a rose garden, but later was used in the sense of "rose garland." Such garlands were decorations and awards to the ancient Romans, who were very familiar with cultivated roses.İ

St. Dominic and the Dominicans in the 13th century began the spread of the devotion known as the Rosary, a garland of prayers in honor of the Virgin. Three colors of roses are especially appropriate in a Mary garden: red roses to symbolize the sorrows of Our Lady, white to symbolize her joys and yellow to symbolize and herald her glories.

Add roses to your Mary garden not only for their beauty but also for their usefulness. The petals can be saved for potpourri and the hips are a good source of vitamin C. The ancient herbalists used roses in many ways.İ

Marigolds are sometimes called Mary's Bud. An old legend says the dresses of the Virgin Mary were adorned with this flower and it has been used to decorate her shrines for the feast of the Annunciation and during the month of May. The flower is hardy in most parts of the United States although many object to the strong odor of its blossoms. It is a helpful plant and keeps away many garden pests. In ancient times, marigold flowers were often dried and used in soups and broths. It was used medicinally by herbalists and forms the basis for a yellow dye used in cosmetics.İ

Columbine and trefoil are said to have sprung forth from the earth at the touch of Mary's foot, and consequently bear the popular names Our lady's Shoes or Our Lady's Slippers. The yellow Lady's Slipper (cypripedium) is also known as American valerian. The common name for a number of other plants marks them as property of Our Lady. Legend tells us that Our Lady used Lady's Bedstraw (galium verum) as one of the cradle herbs added to the hay in the manger of Bethlehem. Lady's Mantle (alchemilla vulgaris) seemed to the 16th century botanist Tragus to have lobed leaves resembling Our Lady's robe. The flat seed-pouches of Lady's Purse (capsella bursa-pastoris) resemble a common leather purse. In America, this plant is commonly called Shepherd's Purse, and small birds are particularly fond of its seed.İ

Lady's Seal (polygonatum multiflorum) may have received its name from the flat round scars on the rootstocks resembling a seal. Spiranthes autumnalis, a fall-blooming plant, must have impressed an ancient herbalist with the spiral arrangement of its flowers which he likened to Our Lady's curls when he named the plant Our Lady's Tresses.İ

The stately and dignified lily has been associated from ancient times with Jesus and Mary. It is an old and traditional symbol of innocence, purity, and virginity. The Madonna Lily (lilium candidum) was dedicated by the Church to the Madonna in the early days of Christianity and was often employed in connection with the celebrations of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin. Lily-of-the-valley is also called Our Lady's Tears. The foxglove grows in moist and shady places and blooms in many colors with clusters of little bells. In medieval times, the plant was known as Our Lady's Thimbles, Virgin's Glove, or Gloves of Our Lady. The plant is the source of digitallin, a medicine commonly used for heart problems.İ

Mary garden The snowdrop is the first herald of spring in Europe. It often blossoms as early as the first week in February, sometimes springing up through patches of snow. Little bouquets of this flower are the first floral tribute of the year at the shrines of the Madonna, and the flower is a popular emblem of Mary's purity and freedom from sin.İ

Violets are a symbol of Mary's humility and are said to have blossomed outside her window when she spoke the words, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord [Lk 1:38]. Tradition says when the angel left this humble virgin, he blessed the little flowers as he passed, endowing them with the most tender and most beautiful fragrance of all plants.İ

Hundreds of other plants and herbs are connected with the Virgin in various ways and traditions. The fig was said to have sheltered the Holy Family on their journey into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. American wormseed (shenopodium anthelminticum) was marketed under the name Herba Sancti Maria in the early days of this century as an expectorant and a medicine for asthma sufferers. Angelica was associated with the springtime festival of the Annunciation. Costmary was known as Herbe Sainte Marie in France, and was widely used during the Middle Ages as a medicine and as a spice and a preservative. The cowslip, whose pendant flowers suggested a bunch of keys, was dedicated to the Virgin in Northern Europe and called Our Lady's Keys, or Key of Heaven.İ

Great mullein (verbascum thapsus) has been known as Our Lady's Flannel or Our Lady's Candle. Those who are prone to plant allergies, however, know this plant as goldenrod. Spearmint, rosemary, tansy and thyme are four aromatic herbs dedicated to Our Lady which would make good additions to a Mary garden.İ

Spearmint was particularly dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and its common names include Our Lady's Mint, Herba Santa Maria and Menthe Day Notre Dame. Mint was one of the favorite strewing herbs in the Middle Ages; it was strewn on the floors of churches and banquet halls to furnish a pleasant odor. It was also used by the monks medicinally and culinarily. Modern housewives value it for two of its properties: it is useful in counteracting the smell of tobacco and mice cannot stand the odor.İ

According to legend, the rosemary plants originally had white blossoms, and these turned blue, Mary's color, in reward for the service it offered when Our Lady looked for some bush on which to spread her Child's tiny clothes when she washed the garments on the way to Egypt. An old superstition says the plant will never grow taller than the height of Christ.İ

Tansy was another of the strewing herbs dedicated to the Virgin and connected with traditions at Easter. Archbishops and bishops played handball with men of their congregation and a tansy cake was reward for the victors. The cakes, made from the young leaves of the plant, mixed with eggs, were thought to purify the body after the limited foods of Lent. •