Chat & Photos
U.N. Mary Garden
Riah Bennett, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, U.K.
Holy Family Church Mary Garden. NYC. by U.N.
In August of 2003 we learned for the first time of the Mary Garden
at the Church of the Holy Family, The United Nations Church, 315
East 4th St., NYC - through an e-mail inquiry from an U.K.
student, Riah Bennett, who as part of her college work had elected
to take on a course-offered landscape design project of developing
an envisaged redesign of the garden layout for its improved
integration with the surrounding environment of modern urban
structures.
We replied and entered into an extensive exchange of e-mail
messages, in the course of which Riah shared with us photos she
had obtained fom another correspondent, and then a scan of her own
proposed design.
The Photos
- taken by Scott Murphy for Riah Bennett and posted here with
permission
Descriptions of the Garden
From the Turtle Bay Newsletter, on line,
"The present church, built on the site of a stable, was
dedicated in 1965 to serve the needs of the UN community,
as well as the Turtle Bay parish. Particular concern for
the plight of refugees throughout the world is portrayed.
The word "hope" in various languages is worked into the
design. A large aluminum statue of the risen Christ above
the altar provides a focus for this spirit of hope.
"Enjoy a moment of tranquility in St. Mary's Garden, the
church's lovely courtyard with a statue of St. Mary, a
bridge over a pond, benches, and lush plantings."
From Turtle Bay parishioner, Mary,
It is a wonderful place of serenity and peace.
This garden shares 47th Street with a fairly new plaza and garden.
The section of 47th St between 1st and 2nd Aves was residence to
an incredible amount of homeless. Since I am a resident of NYC
for almost 4 yrs, I have only had the privilege of seeing the
"after" in person. The "before" photos are extremely depressing.
However, we now have an awesome neighborhood plaza with benches,
many trees, fountains and a 1/2 acre garden which runs from 1st to
2nd Aves. One of our boardmembers suggested naming the plaza
garden after a resident who was an avid gardener - Katharine
Hepburn, who lived on 49th St. within the Turtlebay Community for
soooo many years. We have celebrated her birthday, May 12th, on
the 2nd Sat of May for 6 years, this year being no exception. She
will be missed by many!
The best part? While I'm working with other volunteers on
Saturdays, I can look over and see the Church and Mary's Garden!
The church bells and hymns only enhance the weekly experience:
How lucky are we?
Critique of the garden design by Buckinghamshire Chilterns University
College Faculty of Design
"SITE
"Mary's Garden is in a prestigious position next door to the Japan
Society on East 47th Street and across the block from the United
Nations complex. The new 73 story Trump World Tower, which has
radically altered the Manhattan skyline, has just been completed
nearby
"Although the existing landscape design includes water and a
bridge to provide a change of level as well as some planting, the
appearance is hard and uninviting to the visitor entering from the
street"
"BRIEF
"You are asked to develop design proposals to radically alter this
urban space so that it is appealing and enticing to those passing
as well as for those viewing it from predominantly glazed
elevations which surround three of its sides
"You should respond to the qualities of light and reflection
within the site caused by its proximity to the East River.
"You should consider introducing soft surfaces, reflective
elements, different levels, seasonal and aromatic planted forms,
structures accommodating the human form, etc.
"PROCESS
"You will need to gather as much information about the site as
possible during your stay in New York and you should be equipped
with measuring equipment, cameras, audio/visual recorders and
drawing instruments so that you can produce accurate surveys,
plans, elevations, sections and impressions of the garden
"Once back in the UK, you are to evolve your design for the
transformation of this space through sketches, maquettes,
drawings, models, measured drawings, CAD and presentation visuals.
"You should produce visual evidence showing how your design for
the transformation of this space relates to and contrasts with the
area surrounding it."
Some thoughts on urban parish Mary Garden design, in respect to the
Buckinghamshire Chilterns critique
The Buckinghamshire Chilterns critiqe of the Holy Family Church
Mary Garden is strictly from the viewpoint of landscape design -
whreof Riah Bennet wrote, "in the begining we were told the
garden was nothing to do with the church, and until I saw the
photos, I thought the name was either a coincidence, or 'carried
over' from the past, if it was associated with the church. This is
why there is no statue or other religious artifacts in (my)
design".
However, as "grace builds on nature", the application of the
universal principles of design to an urban church Mary Garden, in
respect to its external contemporary architectural setting -
through which one prays and offers sacrifices for the city and for
the modern world - is as important as the application of these
principles to the interior "garden enclosed" in relation to its
integrity of enclosure, focal point and axes; bed and plant
proportions; and clarity of plant symbolism (as set forth in
"Honoring Mary with God's Artistry").
In this we are reminded of how the altar bas relief of "Our Lady
of the Universe" at the original Franciscan Chapel in the
Prudential Center Mall in Boston (removed when administration of
the chapel was taken over by others in the 1980's, and a more
conventional "devotional" statue installed) imparted a sense of
Our Lady's heavenly queenship of the modern world of science,
technology and space exploration.
Thus, a more contemporary statue - reflective of the design of the
surrounding buildings - could be a first step for a proposed
opening up of a garden such as the U.N. Mary Garden to the world.
Also the statue could perhaps be positioned, and the garden axes
established, such that it could be seen with one or more of the
buildings as a background - and perhaps accompanied with a world
globe or background plaque or bas relief of the nations of the
world, bringing to mind Our Lady's mediation of graces to U.N.
world leaders. Gold flowers would be appropriate to Our Lady's
world mediation of these heavenly graces. As stated in the
design critique, consideration should also be given as to how the
garden appears when viewed from the windows of the surrounding
high-rise buildings.
These thoughts augment some previous thoughts occasioned by the
St. Francis Garden at Episcopal Trinity Church at Copley Square in
Boston. Here, on approaching the garden from the street, one
views it in striking perspective against the immediate backgound
of the church building, and then of both against the background of
the adjacent contemporary englassed Hancock Tower - symbolizing
the sacred history of the world from the Garden of Eden, to the
Church of Christ, to the Earthly/Heavenly City.
These photos are of the garden in the Church courtyard; of the
Hancock Tower soaring above both; and, then, of all three in
perspective - via a painting made by a street artist (as the
camera lens was not of a sufficiently wide angle to encompass all
three).
In the "Enclosed Garden" we reflect extensively, through the
joyful and the sorrowful Flowers of Our lady, on Mary's
Annunciation virtues and joys, and on her sorrows of Christ's
Passion and Crucifixion; but reflection on her mediation of the
graces for the glorious culmination of Creation in the earthly
peaceable Kingdom, and its resurrectional transfiguration into the
eternal new Heaven and New Earth, calls for recourse both to
Mary's glorious flower symbols, and also to the architectural
symbols of the her prophetic glories as the 'House of Gold", the
"Tower of Ivory" and the "City of God", of the Litany of Loreto.
It is thus fitting that, in princple, consideration be given to
the opening up of Mary's enclosed garden at the U.N. parish to the
surrounding urban symbolism of the Heavenly City.
The correspondence through which all this developed:
Aug 13, 2003, Riah Bennett
Hello, i really don't know if this is the right place, but I am
looking for a few photos of Marys Garden on east 47th street, New
York, next to Holy Family Church. It's for my last project for
university, so it's quite important. i have asked so many people,
mostly strangers! but nothing on the exact garden itself. If you
have any information on this garden, can you please point me in
the right direction?
Thank you for your time,
Aug 16, 2004, John Stokes, Mary's Gardens
Thank you for your message of August 14 inquiring about the Mary
Garden at east 47th street, New York, next to Holy Family Church.
We regret we are unable offhand to provide any information about
this particular garden. In fact, we would be most appreciative if
you could let us know by e-mail anything you are able to find out
about it, and maybe attach a digital photo or two, if you are able
to obtain or take some.
From your mention that you "have asked so many people" about it I
assume that you are in the UK, and these inqiries have been via
e-mail. If so, have you inquired at the Church itself? They
might have a list of the flowers, and other information, such as
who planted it and when, and who cares for it.
I see from an Internet search just now that the street address of
the church is:
Church of the Holy Family
The United Nations Church
315 East 4th St.
Only some music information is given, and the fact that it is
Roman Catholic.
Maybe you could write them?
The information that the church the Mary Garden is next to is "The
United Nations Church" makes us especially interested in this
garden.
When we started Mary's Gardens of Philadelphia in 1951 to promote
the restoration the medieval oral tradition of the Flowers of Our
Lady and Mary Gardens to contemporary religious and gardening
culture, they were almost unknown in the United States, and at
that time people planting Mary Gardens after learning of them from
our research and articles usually let us know about them.
Now, (happily), these gardens are increasingly becoming a part of
contemporary culture; but as a consequence people planting them
may not know of our founding work, or have any particular occasion
for telling us about them.
For your project: the general character of Mary Gardens is common
to all, as set forth in introductory articles reprinted on our
Mary's Gardens website, (at www.mgardens.org), such as:
OVERVIEW
> Developmental Articles
> 1953 - Mary Gardens
> 1956 - Flowers for the Fairest
The name, "Mary Garden" is of medieval origin, per:
OVERVIEW
> Medieval Mary Garden Prints
The Flowers of Our Lady are documented to be of medieval origin,
such as:
RESEARCH
> Mary Fowers . . .
> Early Flowers of Our Lady Research - Medieval Latin
Information about the Flowers of Our Lady and Mary Gardens in the
UK is given at:
RESEARCH
> Mary Flowers in . . .
> 5 - U.K.
If someone knowledgeable about flowers is able to visit the
garden for you, ask them to make a list of the flowers by their
secular present day common names; and obtain the religious names
from one of our lists giving both names for each, such as:
OVERVIEW
> List of 100 Popular Flowers for Mary Gardens
Or maybe there are plant markers in the garden giving the
religious names.
Many Flowers of Our Lady (identified by their secular common
names) are to be found in the medieval plantings of The Cloisters,
at Fort Tryon Park, New York City, reachable by subway, per:
OVERVIEW
> Developmental Articles
> 1965 - Flowers of Our Lady Growing at The Cloisters
> 1999 - The Cloisters - Mary's U.S. Botanical Garden
We regret we are not able to provide specific information re. this
Mary Garden about which you inquire, but hope the above
suggestions and information are helpful.
Could you e-mail us a copy of your project paper?
Thanks
"Look on the flower, think of Mary"
Aug 16, 2003, Paula Mucha, Mary's Gardens, to John
Here's a web link to the Church of the Holy Family:
http://parishesonline.net/scripts/dbgetParishRecord.asp?ID=2154
It has an email for the pastor, perhaps he would have information
too.
(from the website)
Church of the Holy Family 315 47th St. New York, NY 10017-2301
Fr Robert J Robbins, Pastor
ASSOCIATES: Fr George Perera---Fr Emile Frische
E-mail - churchcf@aol.com
Aug 16, 2003, Paula
Briefly -
Here's just a small mention of the Mary Garden from a website:
Holy Family Roman Catholic Church
315 East 47th Street, Hammarskjold Plaza
The present church, built on the site of a stable, was dedicated
in 1965 to serve the needs of the UN community, as well as the
Turtle Bay parish. Particular concern for the plight of refugees
throughout the world is portrayed in the stained glass windows,
which dominate the west wall. The word "hope" in various
languages is worked into the design. A large aluminum statue of
the risen Christ above the altar provides a focus for this spirit
of hope.
Enjoy a moment of tranquility in St. Mary's Garden, the church's
lovely courtyard with a statue of St. Mary, a bridge over a pond,
benches, and lush plantings.
Aug 16, 2003, John to Paula
Many, many thank for this further valued information re Church of
the Holy Family.
I will send an e-mail message to the pastor
Many thanks.
Aug 16, 2003. Paula
Hopefully they answer their email - but if you have not heard from
them, I will call them - just let me know.
I did inquire to the Turtle Bay newsletter I found online which
had a few blurbs about the 'tranquil garden'. Hopefully they will
write back, if they do- I will forward to you for your reference
and so you can send on to the student.
Aug 16, Paula to Turtle Bay Newletter
I'm wondering where I could find some photos of the Mary Garden at
the Church of the Holy Family. Any ideas?
Thank you.
Aug 17, 2003, John to "Church of the Holy Family"
Dear Reverend Fathers,
We hope the above e-mail address - obtained by one of our
Associates from the website - gets this to you.
We append below a message from an UK student requesting of us
information about your church Mary Garden for a project paper she
is writing for "the university" - and our replies.
We hope you can send us this information, and hopefully some
digital photos, to us by return e-mail (to save time), and/or by
postal mail at
Mary's Gardens
Box 30290
Philadelphia, PA 19103
so we can forward it to her.
(We do not have fax)
We are especially interested in this information so we can also
post it to our Mary's Gardens Internet website, adding to the
information there about other prominent public Mary Gardens, such
as that at the Basilica of the U. S. National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Anything you can send us will be much appreciated.
Respectfully yours,
Aug 19, 2003, Paula
Just an FYI, the person who answered email at the Turtle Bay
Newsletter is forwarding my question about getting photos of the
garden at the Church of the Holy Family. Hopefully something will
turn up from them too.
(Message from "Millie")
Hi, I have forwarded your e-mail to someone who is active in Holy
Family and you will hear from her.
Thank you for writing.
Sep 1, 2003, Paula
I think we may have some information and photos for your student
inquiry. Read the message below.
I was wondering though, is this garden the same as the Katherine
Hepburn garden?
(Message from "Mary")
As a member of Holy Family, chairperson of Kate Hepburn's Garden
across the street from the Church, avid gardener and a photo buff,
I have a few photos of my namesake's garden. May I ask why you
are seeking photos and what you require? I would like to
accommodate your requests. Please be patient with my response,
since I work long hours and delve into my personal emails only
from home.
Thank you for your interest - it is a wonderful place of serenity
and peace.
Sep 1, 2003, Paula,
More info about the Mary's Garden in NY.
Message from Mary
I will pursue collecting some of my photos. Mary's Garden,
previously called St. Mary's Garden, is adjacent to the RC Church
of the Holy Family, Parish for the UN. It seems to be the one
mentioned in the attachments. Lucky someone who searched long and
hard enough to locate this jewel! The parishioners donate
annually toward the upkeep, which is quite high. This year the
reflecting pool required major repair due to a leak. All is in
order now.
This garden shares 47th Street with a fairly new plaza and garden.
The section of 47th St between 1st and 2nd Aves was residence to
an incredible amt of homeless. Since I am a resident of NYC for
almost 4 yrs, I have only had the privilege of seeing the "after"
in person. The "before" photos are extremely depressing.
However, we now have an awesome neighborhood plaza with benches,
many trees, fountains and of course a 1/2 acre garden which runs
from 1st to 2nd Aves. One of our boardmembers suggested naming
the garden after a resident who was an avid gardener - Katharine
Hepburn, who lived on 49th St. within the Turtlebay Community for
soooo many years. We have celebrated her birthday, May 12th, on
the 2nd Sat of May for 6 years, this year being no exception. She
will be missed by many!
The best part? While I'm working with other volunteers on
Saturdays, I can look over and see the Church and Mary's Garden!
The church bells and hymns only enhance the weekly experience :)
How lucky are we?
I believe your address was provided in a previous email. Check
your mailbox for my envelope, remembering it may take some time.
Blessings,
Sep 7, 2003, John to Paula
Thanks for the forwards re. the Holy Family Church Mary Garden in
NYC
You say,
> I was wondering though, is this garden the same as the
> Katherine Hepburn garden?
I see that in her message of September 1, "Mary" states:
> we now have an awesome neighborhood plaza with benches,
> many trees, fountains and of course a 1/2 acre garden
> which runs from 1st to2nd Aves. One of our board members
> suggested naming the garden after a resident who was an
> avid gardener - Katharine Hepburn . . .
>
> The best part? While I'm working with other volunteers on
> Saturdays, I can look over and see the Church and Mary's
> Garden!
So it would seem they are two distinct gardens,
I suggest that in writing to Mary, if you already haven't, you
express interest in the Katherine Hepburn garden, and say you
would appreciate seeing photo, but that your special interest is
in the Mary's Garden at the church, and that you would hope she
could send several photos of this - one of a close-up of the
statue with some surrounding flowers; one of the fuller garden,
and one from more of a distance that shows the garden in relation
to the church.
Ask her for a list of the flowers in the garden. Don't worry
about the Mary-names. We can deal with these, and note the color
symbolism, etc, of those not so named. Also, ask for some general
information, such as any church functions involving the garden:
May crownings, Marian feast days, Rosary prayer meetings, etc.,
and also informal uses by parishioners such as at baptisms,
weddings, etc.. Finally, any historical information, such as when
and by whom as it founded. And is it cared for by a parish garden
guild or committee, by a parish sodality, and or by a parish
groundskeeper, or outside landscapist or nurseryman?
Appreciate your digging into this.
Sep 10, 2003, Riah
Hi, I don't know if you will remember me, but I enquired about a
Mary's Garden on East 47th Street, New York, and you replied with
some helpful hints.
Unfortunatly I am in the UK, and I missed the class trip to New
York at Easter, hence not having any pictures in the first place,
bringing me into the predicament i was in! I have asked quite a
few people, and finally just in time, someone emailed me some 20
pictures from that very garden.
In your e-mail you asked if i could send you a copy of my project
paper, which i will do, would you also like the pictures? i will
have to send them via e-mail in small batches, as my account
doesn't let me send anything over 1mb. unfortunatly I dont have
any names for the plants, but some are visible enough to be able
to name them. it is also very green, i dont know if the flowering
season hasnt started yet, but it all seemed to be foliage.
Please let me know if this would be of any help, and I will email
you the paper and pictures.
Sep 11, 2003, John to Riah,
Thank you for your message of September 10.
I am pleased you received photos of the NYC Mary's Garden at the
Holy Family U.N. Catholic Church "just in time" for the completion
of your project.
Yes I would indeed appreciate receiving an e-mail copy of your
paper, and copies all the pictures (in batches). It is of
importance to our work to learn of this Mary Garden at the U. N.
Catholic Church, and we always receive new insights through the
eyes of others.
How did you learn of it from the UK?
Did the pictures you received come from one of the people you
contacted, or perhaps through the parish clergy I contacted, or
through contacts made by one of our Associates - to whom I cc'd my
response of August 16 to your initial inquiry of the 14th?
Associate, Paula Mucha picked up where I left off and succeeded in
entering into e-mail contact with several parishioners of the
Church, who said they would take or get some photos of the garden.
If they did so, and e-mailed them to you directly, I'd like to let
Paula know. If theirs are additional photos, I will send you
copies for your files.
You mention that there are photos of the flowers but that the
garden appears to be very green and mostly foliage. I'll let you
know the names of any flowers I am able to identify from the
photos.
In the 52 years of our work we have noted that many parish Mary
Gardens go through cycles. Some are started with a planting plan
of many Flowers of Our Lady, but which is abandoned as those who
started the gardens leave the parishes. Others were initially
just statues with shrub landscaping, but then developed into full
Mary Gardens of flowers, as others joining the parish became
interested. An example of the former is the Mary Garden I planted
at a former parish of my own, but which was greatly grassed over
and reduced in size after I moved from the parish, as shown in the
"before" and "after" photos in our website article:
OVERVIEW
> Representative Mary Gardens
> School Mary Garden
From such experiences we now counsel those starting parish Mary
Gardens to organize self-perpetuating Mary Garden societies or
guilds which sustain the initial planting in their care for the
gardens - as described in the various parish gardens of our web
site CHAT section.
Sincerely,
Sep 12, 2003, Riah,
Hello, attached is a copy of the project brief for the Mary's
Garden project. I will forward the 30 pictures of the garden in
small batches.
You asked how I became aware of the garden; well, the class trip
to New York has been part of the first year of the degree course
for some years, and the choice of four projects associated with
the trip have been the same throughout this time. Marys Garden
has been included on the itinery for the Landscape Design Students
which share the course with the Interior Design students. The
Marys Garden project is not exclusive for the landscapers, and
vice versa for the other projects throughout the year. I chose to
do the garden as it appealed more to me than the others, which
included a coffee kiosk for a train station, and a window display
for the department store 'Barney's'.
I hope this has helped somewhat for your data collection. I would
also be pleased to forward your email and name to the head of the
course, Jonny Bell, he would possibly be able to help you more in
how the Garden was found in the first place, just let me know.
You also asked how I came about getting the pictures: I posted a
request on the American Weight Watchers Website, and by sheer
chance a Lady called Christine saw it, and found a website of a
gentleman called Scott who lived not far from the garden, and had
pictures of nearby buildings. Scott was kind enough to go and take
the following 30 pictures, and emailed them to me via Christine.
It also turned out that Scott didnt know of the garden until he
was made aware of my request, and has found it a pleasant place to
visit, and says he will visit the garden often now he knows about
it.
Please pass my thanks onto all your associates and the
parishioners that you mentioned in your email.
I would also like to thank you for your offer of letting me know
the names of plants already in the garden, but this is not
necessary, as it was not part of the project to do a complete list
of plants and materials in the present garden.
I do hope this information and pictures helps you and your
organisation.
PROJECT BRIEF
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE CHILTERNS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
FACULTY OF DESIGN - INTERIOR DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN
MODULE TITLE: MARY'S GARDEN EAST RIVER > > > > > ASSESSMENTS:
COURSEWORK, TUTORIALS AND GROUP CRITIQUES
"SITE
"Mary's Garden is in a prestigious position next door to the Japan
Society on East 47th Street and across the block from the United
Nations complex. The new 73 story Trump World Tower, which has
radically altered the Manhattan skyline, has just been completed
nearby
"Although the existing landscape design includes water and a
bridge to provide a change of level as well as some planting, the
appearance is hard and uninviting to the visitor entering from the
street"
"BRIEF
"You are asked to develop design proposals to radically alter this
urban space so that it is appealing and enticing to those passing
as well as for those viewing it from predominantly glazed
elevations which surround three of its sides
"You should respond to the qualities of light and reflection
within the site caused by its proximity to the East River.
"You should consider introducing soft surfaces, reflective
elements, different levels, seasonal and aromatic planted forms,
structures accommodating the human form, etc.
PROCESS
"You will need to gather as much information about the site as
possible during your stay in New York and you should be equipped
with measuring equipment, cameras, audio/visual recorders and
drawing instruments so that you can produce accurate surveys,
plans, elevations, sections and impressions of the garden
"Once back in the UK, you are to evolve your design for the
transformation of this space through sketches, maquettes,
drawings, models, measured drawings, CAD and presentation visuals.
"You should produce visual evidence showing how your design for
the transformation of this space relates to and contrasts with the
area surrounding it."
Sep 12, 3003, Riah,
here are the pictures, in 3 batches.
i hope these pictures find you alright, and they help you. let me
know if i should pass your details onto the head of course. I
start back in two weeks, if you are able to wait that long.
thank you for your help,
Sep 14, 2003, John,
The pictures all came through perfectly.
Many, many thanks!
Will reply at length Sep 15
In posting some of these to our internet website CHAT or articles,
to whom shall I give copyright credit? "Scott ________, courtesy
Christine __________ and Riah Bennett"? Or what?
Sep 14 2003, Riah,
hello, glad the pics are alright.
as for the picture acknowledgements, Scott actually took the
pictures, sorry i dont know his last name, but i will find out, if
you can hold off distributing them for a few days?
thanks, will write again soon
Sep 15, 2003, Riah,
I have had a reply from Scott Murphy, RE: the photos:
Hi Riah.
Christine gave me your email address and said that someone named
John Stokes may like to use my Mary's Garden pictures on a web
site. You have my permission to send him any of them for use on
his site.
Sincerely,
Scott Murphy
good luck with your research on this garden, and i shall send you
the project brief later today.
Sep 16, 2003, John,
I was doubly thrilled to receive your e-mail messages of Sep 12
with the attached 30 photos of the NYC Mary's Garden at the Holy
Family UN. Catholic Church, and the Project Brief, in that:
- there exists this UN Mary's Garden, with the prominent display
of its name inviting passersby on the street to enter; with the
inspirational notice, "Welcome to Mary's Garden - a Private Space
for Prayer and Quiet - "My house shall be a house of prayer for
all nations" (Isaiah 56.7); and with a contemporary style statue
of the Virgin Mary surrounded by plants and flowers, in the
setting of a bridge, pool and mediation benches,
- and that your college project addresses the desirability of
enhancing the garden with elements of beauty and esthetics in
further harmony with and mirroring the beauty and textures of the
surrounding urban environment.
From our viewpoint, as implicit in my message of Sep 10, I
envisage also the further enhancement of this Mary's Garden with
more flowers - the revealed "signatures" of the Virgin, as derived
by the Church Fathers from from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah
2:11) of the Virgin Mother of Emmanuel as the "blossoming Rod of
Jesse" - and especially with the more familiar of the "Flowers of
Our Lady" perceived and named in medieval times as symbols of
Mary's life and Rosary mysteries.
And in keeping with the desired enhancement of the garden's beauty
and esthetics, I envisage, as well, that these symbolic flowers be
composed in beds oriented to the focal statue and garden axes - in
accordance with the principles of integrity, proportion and
clarity - as set forth in my Catholic Art Quarterly and, now,
website article:
OVERVIEW
> ...Articles
> 1953 - "Honoring Mary With God's Artistry"
and arranged within the beds in groups such that the symbolism of
the forms and colors of each plant species can be distinctly
perceived and reflected on, with the assistance of attractive, but
inconspicuous, name markers.
While I can see from photo #8 that the statue of the Virgin is of
good size, it is not visible as the focal object from the entrance
(photo #2), although it is clearly so from the sitting terrace
(photo #7). Also, it is provided with no ready means for placing
flowers before it devotionally
I can see how necessary the photos are to the completion of your
project, since you couldn't make the Easter student trip to New
York. It is indeed marvellous the way Scott took the pictures for
you via your request on the American Weight Watchers website, and
thanks to Christine's thoughtfulness and effort. Great that he
included photos of how the UN building and the Trump World Tower
rise above the garden. And thanks for your message of Sep 15
forwarding Scott's permission to use his photos on our website. I
will indicate "Photos with copyright and permission of Scott
Murphy". I plan to draw on all this for a CHAT entry, and will
post it at first generally unannounced for your ok before publicly
announcing and indexing it.
The considerations of the Project Brief remind me of the view of
the Hancock Tower rising above the St. Francis Garden at Trinity
Church (Episcopalian) in Copley Square in Boston, per the attached
3 website graphics:
Garden & church
Church & Hancock Tower
All three
As can be seen, this garden has been integrated into the church
architectural design; and the view from the front of the garden -
visible and invitingly approachable from the street, as shown by
the water color painting I had done by a street artist, as it was
hard to catch with a camera, even with a wide-angle lens -
recapitulates world sacred history from Garden (Eden) to Church to
Earthly/Heavenly City. A former rector of this church, Phillip
Brooks, is known throughout the world for his composition of the
Christmas carol, "O, Little Town of Bethlehem".
On the other hand, this garden is not a devotional garden, in that
there is no means for visitors to enter it, to approach the statue
of St. Francis, or to see the individual flower varieties
symbolically close-up, And those caring for it have to, as it
were, climb down into it to work in it. On the other hand it is
clearly visible from the "front" and left colonnade by which the
church is entered from the side - as the church front entrance
opens on Copley Square "behind" the garden. The garden is also
visible from the windows of the church office, to the right.
In my personal circumstances, the Hancock Tower is marvelously
viewable to the southeast from our family fifth floor condominium
residence on Boston two blocks away - where I used to spend a good
part of each year on the late 70's and the 80's. The historic
condominium building, formerly a hotel - one of the first urban
structures wired for electricity under the personal supervision of
Thomas Edison (in direct current, prior to the the introduction of
alternating current by Tesla, and now, of course upgraded) - was
partially destroyed and collapsed from a fire, in the early 70's;
and when the southeast corner was rebuilt, huge plate glass
windows were installed at special angles on the south and east
sides of the corner condos for direct views of the Hancock Tower.
I came to see the tower, thus viewed daily, according to the
Marian title of "Ladder to Heaven". The top of this skyscraper
"scrapes" the ecliptic - and, from the 5th floor view, just clears
under the morning sun at the spring and fall equinoxes, as the
earth rotates. The top of the building likewise passes by the
moon ("Our Lady's Lantern") and the visible planets - bringing to
mind St. Bernard's "Look on the star, think of Mary" (from which
we have adopted the Mary's Gardens motto, "Look on the flower,
think of Mary").
I was quickened to reflection each day by this view, and in
passing by the St. Francis Garden on my errand trips. This well
accomplished the goal of your project brief of integrating garden
and city. Also, as I made the acquaintance of the church
parishioners caring for the garden, I interested them in including
a number of the Flowers of Our Lady in the planting, and shared
with them my article, written many years before:
OVERVIEW
> ...Articles
> 1961 - "Gardening With St. Francis"
Further, in keeping with your Project Brief's goal of integrating
garden and city - when I pray the Mary Garden Prayer
GARDEN PRAYER & MEDITATION
> Mary Garden Prayer
in the urban garden setting in the park across the street from my
Philadelphia residence, surrounded by high-rise buildings, after
the opening part,
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
As our hearts are raised to you in love and thanksgiving
through the light, grace, wisdom, and growth of these pure,
blest, transfigured Flower signatures of Our Lady - your
direct creations, showing forth and sharing with us your
divine goodness, beauty,truth and glory,
I insert
and through the artifacts of the earthly city - co-creations
further discovering, revealing and showing forth your divine
wisdom, through Mary, Seat of Wisdom, Garden Enclosed, House
of Gold, Tower of Ivory and City of God, (Some of her titles
from the liturgy)
and then continue,
we commune with you in awe and rapture, and pray that we and
all our brothers and sisters may be opened to the fullness of
the divine love of God and Neighbor, through which we are to
transform the fallen world into the culminating earthly
Peaceable Kingdom and Paradise, that all may be lifted up
resplendent in the eternal New Heaven and New Earth of our
Crucified and Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in
grateful return and to the greater glory of the Father, in
the union of the Holy Spirit of Love, for all eternity."
I will, as you request, pass on your thanks for their efforts on
your behalf to our associates, and through them to the cooperating
contacted parishioners, and, as I mentioned, I will send you
copies of any further photos which may come through them.
Yes, I would indeed appreciate your forwarding my name and e-mail
messages to the head of your course, Jonny Bell, in the hope he
would be able to inform me as to how the Garden was selected for
this project in the first place, and whether any of the resulting
design suggestions have been communicated to the parish.
Hopefully some clergy or parishioners at the Church will be
inspired to take action on the suggestions.
For your information, "Mary's Gardens" was founded in Philadelphia
in 1951 as a not-for-profit spare time project by the late Edward
A. McTague and myself - conducting it together through 1968, when
the growing primary responsibility was taken on by a third
partner, herbalist, Bonnie Roberson, in Idaho. Ed McTague died in
1973, and on my retirement from my professional work (industrial
engineer, corporation manager, communications consultant) in 1980,
I re-joined Bonnie "full time", and after her death in 1983,
carried the work forward with three other Associates - putting up
the Internet website at www.mgardens.org in 1995, and now working
with additional Associates who came and are coming through e-mail
correspondence.
Many Mary Gardens have now been established at homes, parishes,
schools and shrines - perhaps the most prominent of which are
those at the Knock National Shrine of the Virgin in Ireland and
the Basilica of the U.S. National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, DC. In the UK there is a prominent
Flowers of Our Lady planting in the cloister garden of Lincoln
Cathedral, maintained by the Lincoln Herb Society, who also
maintain a renowned Roman Herb Garden in Lincoln. Our website is
accessed by 500 to 1,000 people each day, and this year there will
be over a million "hits" of our over 1,000 text and graphics
files.
I have a special interest in the New York UN Mary's Garden because
in 1946 I worked as an assistant to retired U. S. Supreme Court
Justice Owen J. Roberts in the founding and organization of the
United Nations Council of Philadelphia, later merged with the
Philadelphia Foreign Policy Association - for which I organized
seminars, and lectured at high schools, etc., on the newly formed
United Nations Organization. Then in 1969-72 my wife and I were
consultant producers for 60 one hour "Input" TV panel discussion
programs for the local Philadelphia CBS affiliate, on religious
and social issues - developed from a program on "Women in
Religion" produced by my wife - and several of which dealt with
aspects of the UN such as the Constitution on Human Rights (and
also one on Mary's Gardens - receiving the greatest number of
viewer letters). But most of all because as a Catholic I have
faith in greater recourse to Mary's heavenly counsel, and to her
mediation with her Divine Son, as God's way for our establishment
of world peace - per the website article:
OVERVIEW
> ...Articles
> 2002 - Peace on Earth - Fatima Revisited
Getting back to your project, I hope you will share with me your
paper when it is completed.
Again, let me thank you for letting me know about the UN Mary
Garden, and of the project brief - stimulating all these thoughts
- and for sharing with me the great photos.
Sincerely,
Sp 16, 2003, Riah,
I am glad you got to read the brief.
I shall certainly pass on your details to Jonny Bell, I start back
next week, so hopefully it wont be too long before you get some
more information for your website.
I enjoyed reading your article in the email, it does show how
important finding out about the various Mary Gardens there are is,
and very interesting too. I shall forward a copy to both Christine
and Scott, I'm sure they too would be interested.
As for my project, it turned out a bit different to the
suggestions noted in the brief, I am not familiar with CAD, so
there were no computer drawings, and I wanted to keep the garden
one level to keep the feeling of peace, tranquility and simplicity
of the current garden, and slightly formal to echo the city
layout, which I understand to be in a grid style, with mostly
straight roads.
I have attached a picture of my model, but I must explain, in the
begining we were told the garden was nothing to do with the
church, and until I saw the photos, I thought the name was either
a coincidence, or 'carried over' from the past, if it was
associated with the church. This is why there is no statue or
other religious artifacts in the design. the bushes are acually
flowering shrubs, but i could not find any model flowers small
enough.
hope you like it!
Sep 19, 2003, John,
Thanks for your message of Sep 16 with the attached picture of
your model for the revision of the NYC West 47th street Mary's
Garden per your course landscape design project brief - which it
artfully accomplishes. I hope you receive a good grade for it.
For our Associates, whom I have been copying in on our
correspondence, I attach a copy of the picture of your model to
this message, so they can appreciate this adventure and your work.
Extraordinary that you were told the garden was nothing to do with
the church! Actually, I have learned that there is a "Katherine
Hepburn" garden across the street, and apparently the selector of
Mary's Garden for your college design project regarded "Mary" as
someone other than the Virgin Mary.
From numerous such extraordinary experiences through the years, I
venture to see this as Providence's way of letting us know about
things that people have not told us about directly, and, in
particular, of bringing us to extend our thinking of garden design
in relation to contemporary urban environments.
As indicated in my previous message, those of us proposing and
assisting in the planting of gardens of the Virgin Mary are as
desirous of design excellence as is the originator of your course
landscape project brief - for religious gardens, as well as for
secular gardens.
In this, the design of the focal figure of the Virgin for a
contemporary urban Mary Garden should be included as a
consideration, and in this connection I attach a photo of a bronze
bas relief of "Our Lady of the Universe" from the chapel in the
mall of the Boston Prudential Center Tower, nearby the Hancock
Tower (both buildings extending prominently in the Back Bay area
of Boston, to the west of the center city high rise buildings).
Also attached is a photo which I had meant to include with my
previous message, showing the full rise of the Hancock Tower.
Riah, I have enjoyed this exchange of messages; appreciate the
time and thought you put into it; and extend my best wishes to you
for your study, career and life.
Sincerely,
Sep 24, 2003, Riah,
hello, hope all is well with your research. as promised, I
mentioned to Jonny Bell about your interest in the New York Marys
Garden, and he said the best person to ask is my old tutor, but he
wont be in untill thursday next week. I will take all your
information you sent me in the emails, and let you know how it
goes. they will probably contact you direct, then you can tell
them exactly the information you need.
speak soon,
Aug 3, 2004, John,
I hope this reaches you via your Buckinghamshire Chilterns
University College e-mail address of last year.
You will recall that we exchanged a number of messages last Aug
and Sep following your inquiry regarding the Mary Garden at Holy
Family Church on East 47th street, New York, near the U.N. - for
your college landscape design project.
Not being able to visit the garden in the U.S. - a visit which you
originally anticipated when you elected to undertake the project -
you were seeking garden photos and details as the basis for your
design; whereas we were interested in learning about the garden -
which was previously unknown to us - and also in seeing your
design work and that of other students, as we hadn't previously
given consideration to the integration of such gardens into urban
environments
In your last message, of 24 Sep 2003, you wrote:
> . . . as promised, I mentioned to Jonny Bell about your
> interest in the New York Marys Garden, and he said the
> best person to ask is my old tutor, but he won't be in
> until thursday next week. I will take all your information
> you sent me in the emails, and let you know how it goes.
> They will probably contact you direct, then you can tell
> them exactly the information you need.
I didn't hear from them, so I'm writing to see if you might be
able to stimulate the pulling together at this time of some
further infomation such as I requested - as, with the rush of the
spring gardening season behind me, I have some time to develop a
presentation of the garden for our website.
I of course have the photos you sent me, as a basis for this, but
I am especially interested in the landscape design project
proposal - how the professor saw it and came to choose it for a
project of developing garden revisions to open it up to, and to
integrate it with, its modern urban environment; and I am also
interested in possibly seeing various proposals developed by your
fellow students who took on this project.
Anything you might be able to develop would be much appreciated,
but more basically I thank you for all the information you have
sent, the photos, and the scan of your design; and send my best
wishes to you for your studies and career.
Sincerely,