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Intro Mary Garden
The Knock Mary Garden Planting
Sean MacNamara, C.F.C. The Knock Mary Garden, 1987
The Mary Garden at Knock - inspired
by the Garden of Our Lady at St. Joseph's
Church, on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in
the United States - was designed and
planted by Shrine Horticulturalist, Anne
Hopkins Lavin, on the initiative of Msgr.
James Horan, Shrine Director. It is
located beside the Blessed Sacrament
Chapel which was opened and blessed on
Thursday 2nd June, 1983, Feast of
Corpus Christi.
This unique garden consists of
eight beds - two on the left and two on
the right of the statue - presented by
the Goggin family. The Grove House,
Middleton, Co. Cork. Across from the
statue there is another bed and three
beds which touch the walls of the
Blessed Sacrament Chapel.
A distinctive feature of this garden is the use of the
attractive perforated limestone rock from Lough Mask for the
raised beds and grotto.
In 1986 the original 1983 planting plan, based on plants
of the Woods Hole Mary Garden planting and research, was revised
to incorporate additional, native Irish flower species suggested
by Bro. Sean MacNamara, C.F.C., who since 1972 had been researching
the Flowers of Our Lady of old Irish rural traditions - bringing
the total number of flower varieties in the garden to eighty.
In keeping with the concept of the garden as the National
Irish Mary Garden, the enlarged plan envisaged that two or more
varieties of Our Lady's Flowers in it could be dug and brought from
each of the Irish colunties, as researched by Brother Sean, in
"Wild 'Mary-Flowers' from the Irish Counties."
The following is a complete list of the plants in the Mary
Garden following the 1986 revisions:
Common Name Botanical Name Religious Name
Alyssum Alyssum Mary's Flower
Barberry Berberis Our Lady's Leaf
Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus Our Lady's Boots
Bleeding Heart Dicentra spectabilis Mary's Heart
Broom Cytisus (Flight into Egypt)
Bugle Ajuga St. Lawrence Plant
Canterbury Bells Campanula Our Lady's Bells
Cinquefoil Potentilla M. Purification
Columbine Aquilegia ulgaris Our Lady's Shoes
Cornflower Centaurea Mary's Crown
Cowslip Primula veris Our Lady's Keys
Daffodils Narcissus Mary's Star
Daisy Bellis perennis Mary's Rose
Dog Rose Rosa canina Mary's Rose
Forget-me-not Myosotis Eyes of Mary
Foxglove Digitalis purpurea Our Lady's Gloves
Fuchsia Fuchsia hybrida Our Lady's Eardrops
Great Mullein Verbascum thapsus Mary's Candle
Heather Calluna Mary's Help Red
Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum Our Lady's Fingers
Iris Iris Mary's Sword
Jacob's Ladder Polemonium 'Ladder-to-Heaven'
Juniper Juniper Virginiana (Flight Egypt)
Ladies Mantle Alchemilla speciosa Our Lady's Mantle
Lavender Lavendula (Flight into Egypt)
Lily-of-the-Valley Convallaria Our Lady's Tears
London Pride Saxifraga Umbrosa Our Lady's Needlework
Madonna Lily Lilium candidum Mary's Lily
Marigolds Calendula Mary's Gold
Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris Our Lady's Smock
Meadowsweet Spirea ulmaria Lady-of-the-Meadow
Milk Thistle Silybum Marianum Mary's Thistle
Monkshood Aconitum Mary's Slipper
Narcissi Narcissus Our Lady's Rose
Nasturtium Tropaeolum St.Joseph's Flower
Pansy Viola Our Lady's Delight
Pellitory Parietaria diffusa Madonna's Herb
Periwinkle Vinca minor Virgin Flower
Peony Rose Paeonia Mary's Rose
Petunia Petunia Our Lady's Praise
Pinks Dianthus Mary's Lights
Plantain Lily Hosta Assumption Lily
Polyanthus Primroses Primula Our Lady's Keys
Primrose Primula vulgaris Our Lady's Frills
Quaking Grass Briza media Our Lady's Hair
Ribbon Grass Phalaris Our Lady's Ribbons
Rose of Sharon Hypericum calcycinum St. John's Wort
Rosemary Rosmarinus Mary's Bouquet
Roses Rosa "Her Flowers"
Sea Lavender Limonium vulgare Our Lady's Flower
Sea Thrift Armeria maritima O. L. Pincushion
Snowdrops Galanthus Candlemas Bells
Solomon's Seal Polygonatum Our Lady's Lockets
St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatum Mary's Glory
Sweet Violet Viola Our Lady's Modesty
Sweet William Dianthus Our Lady's Tuft
Tansy Tanacetum vulgare Jesus-Wort
Thuja Thuja occidentalis Tree of Life
Tulips Tulipa Lady Tulip
Valerian Centranthus Our Lady's Needlework
Virginian Stock Matthiola The Virgin's Cross
Wall-pepper Sedum acre Our Lady's Hair
Wallflowers Cheiranthus Mary's Flower
Wood Sorrel Oxalis acetosella Our Lady's Meat
Yellow Bedstraw Galium verum Mary's Bedstraw
.
LIST OF PLANTS IN EACH OF THE EIGHT BEDS
1. Bed nearest Statue on the left-hand side: Aconitum, Pansy,
Sweet William, Wallflower, Forget-me-not, London Pride, Aquilegia,
Honeysuckle, Thuia, Madonna Lily, Rosemary, Peony Rose, Lavender,
Pinks, Bellis perennis, Polyanthus Primrose, Juniper virginiana
'Skyrocket', Harbaceous Potentilla, Hosta, Lily-of-the-valley,
Rose of Sharon, Fuchsia, Solomon's Seal, Daffodils, Narcissi,
Spirea, Tulips, Snowdrops.
2. Small bed away from Statue on left-hand side: Fuchsia, Rose of
Sharon, Lavender, Pinks, Ajuga, Navelwort, Wallflowers, Polyantha
Roses, Daffodils, Narcissi, Tulips, Snowdrops, Rosemary,
Marigolds, Nasturtiums.
3. Bed nearest Statue on the right-hand side: Honeysuckle,
Herbaceous Potentilla, Aconitum, Alchemilla, Limonium, Rosemary,
Madonna Lily, Cornflower, Fuchsia, Pinks, Polyanthus Primroses,
Bellis perennis, Daffodils, Narcissi, Tulips, Snowdrops, Pansies,
Marigolds, Thuja.
4. Bed away from Statue on the right-hand side: Polyantha roses,
Herbaceous Potentilla, Pansies, Centranthus, Pinks, Ajuga, Thuga
occidentalis'Rheingold', Lavender, Wallflowers, Narcissi,
Daffodils, Tulips, Snowdrops, Nasturtium, Tansy.
5. Large bed behind Blessed Sacrament Chapel: Standard roses,
Hosta, Berberis, Sweet William, Cytisus, Polyantha Roses,
Nasturtium, Pansies, Juniper virginiana, 'Skyrocket', Rosemary,
Madonna Lily, Poeny Rose, Solomon's Seal, Jacob's Ladder,
Limonium, Ajuga, Navelwort, Bellis perennis, Polyanthus,
Canterbury Bells, Lavender, Bleeding Heart, Daffodils, Narcissi,
Tulips, Snowdrops, Petunia, Marigolds, Ribbon Crass, Verbascum,
Hybridum.
6. Large bed opposite Statute: Vinca, Pansies, Wallflowers,
Aquilegia, Our Lady's Bedstraw, St. John's Wort, Oxalis
acetosella, London Pride, Heathers, Rosemary, Fuchsia, Ajuga, Dog
Rose Lily-of-the-Valley, Marsh Marigold, Quaking Grass, Rose of
Sharon, Spirea, Juniper virginiana 'Skyrocket', Digitalis,
Solomon's Seal, Thrift, Red Valerian, Iris, Bleeding Heart,
Marigolds, Petunia, Wall-Pepper, Sweet Violet, Milk Thistle,
Nasturtium, Foxglove.
7. Narrow bed on left-hand side when entering Blessed Sacrament
Chapel: Standard Roses, Pansies, Ajuga, Pinks, Polyanthuses,
London Pride, Limonium, Snowdrops, Daffodils, Petunias.
8. Large bed on left-hand side when going from Blessed Sacrament
Chapel to Car Park: Thuja occidentalis'Rheingold', Hosta, Broom,
Wallflower, Shrub Roses, Juniper virginiana' Skyrocket', Rosemary,
Madonna Lily, Peony Rose, Solomon's Seal, Polemonium (Jacob's
Ladder), Limonium, Ajuga, Omphalodes (Navelwort), Bellis perennis,
Polyanthuses, Canterbury Bells, Lavender, Spirea, Fuchsia,
Herbaceous Potentilla, Vinca, Pinks, Iris, Sweet William, Dicentra
(Bleeding Heart), Daffodils, Narcissi, Tulips, Snowdrops, Petunia,
Marigolds.
Lists reprinted with permission from The Knock Mary Garden by
Brother Sean MacNamara, C.S.C.
Photos: Fr. Roger M. Charest, S.M.M., 1988