Chat & Photos

Human Flower Project
                                Link - http://www.humanflowerproject.com


Julie Ardery

Austin, Texas


Dec 8 2004 Julie Ardery

Hello,

And thank you for your amazing site.

I look forward to featuring some of your work on

     The Human Flower Project

and will add a link also. I know many people will be interested in
your research and community.

Here's a little piece from my weblog today that, while not
specifically about Mary Gardens, may be of interest to you.


/index.php/weblog/immaculate_conception_floral_action/

All good wishes,


Dec 19 2004 Julie Ardrey

So happy to see that you have joined the Human Flower Project -- a
wonderful Christmas gift for me.

I hope to feature your terrific site early in 2005.

Off to Kentucky for Christmas.

May your holidays be filled with joy.


Dec 20 2004 John Stokes

Thanks for your messages of 8 & 19 Dec.

I'm familiar with the Immaculate Conception statue crowning in
Rome, and much appreciate having the "Immaculate Conception,
Floral Action" press release with photo of this year's 8 Dec
firefighters ladder flower adornment.

Viewed your attractive website extensively and also noted
especially:

     "A Lotus for Diwali"
     "Bring Out Your Inner Bee"
     "Canadian Plant Hardiness Zones"
     "Floral Authority and Mother for the Americas"
     "Flower Mandalas"
     "Kiwi Taste..."
     "Love Affair Begins..."
     "Poinsettia: a Little Legend..."
     "The Swap Is Mightier Than the Sale"
     "Tucson Enjoys Fluttering Junket"
     "Vets' Poppy Custom..."
     "What's Purgatory..."

The "Canadian" map was larger and clearer than the one I had.
Suggest you post the American Horticultural Society U.S. Heat
Zone Maps, as well as the  UUSDA Hardiness Maps; See:

     http://www.monrovia.com
     http://gardeningplaces.com/heatzonemap/
     http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm

Valued the photo of Acanthus mollis in "Love Affair"".  It's one
of the many plants in our research list of over 1,000 for which I
hadn't gotten around to growing or to finding a photo.  Our
Spanish research gives a common name for it of "Ala de Angel"
(Angel Wing) and the photo shows interestingly, that the symbolism
comes from the branches of flowers, rather than a single flower.

The Hollyhock photo in "The Swap" is stunning.

Re. "Kiwi Taste", we have a special horticultural interest in New
Zealand because of the parallel to the 3 Florida sub-tropical
hardiness zones.

Noted the graveyard Mary Garden photos of "What's Purgatory".

Re. the flower mandalas of "Bring Out", we contemplate many
flowers themselves as mandalas, through their purity, and
especially their color symbolism - white for Gospel and Rosary
joys, red for sorrows, gold for glories.

"A Lotus" was of interest because of the parallels of Isaiah's
prophetic image the virgin birth of the Messiah as the blooming of
a flower to the incarnation of Buddha, etc. from a lotus.

"Poinsettia" - legend is similar to that of the Christmas Rose

"Tucson": we are currently making an in depth study of plants and
their special care for the sub-tropical desert climate of SW
Arizona.

As our research, website development, and e-mail correspondence
are never caught up with, I have little time for Internet
browsing, and therefore value being able to access postings of
flower news in one place, on your website - signing up as a member
(thanks for the acknowledgment).
 
We have set up links only to websites that supplement ours, such
as for seeds, plants, computer garden design, and am pleased to
add yours, for postings of general Flower News.

You of course have permission to make any postings from our
website, so long as there are links to our website, as there are
with others.

As you can see, our website flower photos and references are
primarily for those with religious common names and symbolism -
from the medieval oral tradition of itinerant preachers, mendicant
friars, wandering minstrels, roving players, pilgrims, merchants,
missionaries and other travelers of the era; as preserved, after
the 16th C. introduction of printing, through the field and
scholarly research botanists, folklorists and lexicographers. We
are especially interested in their use today as symbols for
meditation, quickening to prayer, and teaching, as more intuitive
than the written word of catechisms, etc.

Associated religious flower legends have been set forth by our
colleague, Vincenzina Krymow in her book,

     "Mary's Flowers, Gardens, Legends and Meditations", October
     1999, St. Anthony Messenger Press, Cincinnati, and Novalis,
     Toronto.

There are chapters on Mary Gardens in

     "Rooted In the Spirit -  Exploring Inspirational Gardens", by
     Maureen Gilmer, Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas and

     "Catholic Traditions in the Garden", by Ann Ball, Our Sunday
     Visitor Press, Huntingdon, Indiana.

Our overall viewpoint is a full (as opposed to deistically
limited) "creationist" one, in which we believe in the creation of
the spiritual and material worlds by God to show forth and share
the divine goodness, beauty, truth and action with us humans
("goodness likes to share itself") - and this to the fullest.

We believe that for this sharing God has created us "in the divine
image and likeness', and has created the creatures of the material
world (including flowers) as mirrors, images, likenesses and
signatures of the revealed persons, essences, beauties and truths
of the spiritual world (correspondences which are the basis of
both poetic figures and religious symbolism).

From this viewpoint, the Blessed Virgin Mary's immaculate purity,
utter humility, and total fidelity to God's word have enabled God
to share with her (created in the divine image and likeness) the
fullness of divine action - on earth and then assumed body ad soul
into heaven - in an unique personal fulfillment of Gods purpose
for creation. The more we pray to God through her, the more we
enable God's divine/human sharing.

For the fullest of the desired divine/human sharing, God has
blessed her as the universal mediatrix of all grace, light, wisdom
and truth divinely bestowed on the world; and as receiver,
purifier, enhancer, intercessor and advocate for our prayers and
sacrifices, that they may be most acceptable to God.

Hence, the galaxy of flower symbols of Mary, the "Flower of
flowers" (Chaucer), in the medieval Age of Faith - following on
the discernment by the Church fathers of flowers as her signatures
from Isaiah's prophetic imagery of the virgin birth of the
Messiah.

From this viewpoint we value your website's collection and
presentation of the human meaningfulness of flowers generally, of
which religious meanings are part.

Sincerely, with wishes for the blessings of Christmas,