Mary's Garden

"You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride, an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed. Arise, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow upon my garden that its perfumes may spread abroad." Song of Solomon 4:12,16

Mary's Garden is a garden, filled with flowers, plants and trees named for Mary and Jesus. It is designed to be a place of beauty that reminds us of our Lord and Our Lady, to experience God's creation, and to invite prayer and contemplation.

During the Middle Ages, people saw reminders of Mary, the Mother of God, in the flowers and herbs growing around them. Violets were symbols of her humility, lilies her purity and roses her glory. They called her “Flower of Flowers,” and named plants after her. Marigolds were Mary’s Gold, clematis was the Virgin’s Bower and lavender was Our Lady’s Drying Plant.

Devoted to Mary, people decorated her altars with flowers on her feast days. Poets and popes praised her in hymns, as in this 15th-century Ave Maria:

Heil be thou, Marie, that aff flour of all
As roose in eerbir so reed.

In the last century, people also honored Mary with flowers. May crownings were the tradition in Catholic schools during Mary’s month of May, and makeshift home altars bearing an image of Mary were decorated with the choicest home-grown blossoms. Those traditions have almost disappeared, but the medieval custom of finding reminders of Mary’s attributes, glory and sorrows in flowers and herbs has left a legacy that can enrich our lives in this millennium. In medieval times, legends about flowers and herbs, some of them dating from the first century, were used to instruct people, as well as entertain them. Those legends, as well as the Mary names of flowers, can still inform and delight us.

Reflecting on the flower names, we can honor Mary and find relevance for our own lives. We model Mary’s humility as we gaze upon the humble violet, sing her praises with petunias and share her sorrows as we behold the purple blossoms and sword-like leaves of the blue flag iris. Flower and herb legends tell us about important moments in Mary’s life. The Madonna Lily was carried by the Angel Gabriel when he visited Mary to tell her God had chosen her to be the mother of the Savior. Our Lady’s Bedstraw, Holy Hay and other herbs became radiant in the humble manger where Mary gave birth to Jesus. Carnations and the Christmas Rose bloomed on that night.

More than 30 flowers and herbs bear legends about Mary’s life. Many of the plants can be easily grown in your own Mary Garden, a garden dedicated to Mary and containing her image and plants associated with her by name or legend. They are found in Mary Gardens throughout the world, should you want to make a pilgrimage in Mary’s honor. The legends and reflections which follow can take us, in spirit and in our hearts, on a virtual journey with Mary.

Lily of the Valley Convalleria majalis Mary’s Tears.
It was said that when Mary wept at the foot of the Cross, her tears fell to the ground and turned into the tiny fragrant blossoms of this early spring plant. In England it had the name “Our Lady’s Tears” because when viewed from a distance the white flowerets gave the appearance of teardrops falling. The lily of the valley was a symbol of the Virgin Mary because of its pure white flowers, sweet smell and humble appearance. It symbolized Mary’s Immaculate Conception and represented the purity of body and soul by which Mary found favor with God.

Reflection The sacred text does not speak of your tears, Mary, as our legend does. It tells us instead that you stood by the cross and you were not alone. Other women and John were also there. We wonder at the sorrow, the bitterness, the pain of this little community standing by. Fragrant tiny white lily-bells, a thousand quiet tears bowing before the still-cold winter winds, teach me of springtime and the Resurrection just beyond the stone-cold tomb.
Excerpt from Mary's Flowers by Vincenzina Krymow and M. Jean Frisk, illustrations by A. Joseph Barrish, S.M.

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Heavens, Queen of the May. Make our hearts a garden of prayers for these little ones and their families.