Start a Mary Garden

It’s not too late to start your Mary Garden! Yes, it’s summertime, and most gardens are planted and established by now, but it’s not too late for a modest garden. I remember reading about small ones on the Mary’s Gardens web site.

There are windowsill gardens, where a small statue of Mary is surrounded by her flowers. Marigolds, pansies, petunias – all would do well in a window box. I remember seeing one in a small planter, with a statue of Mary among the impatiens blossoms.

An herbal garden might include basil, thyme, parsley, sage and spearmint – all associated with Mary. Placed outside the kitchen door, it could serve as a special reminder that Mary was also a homemaker.

Patio containers can be used to create larger garden spaces. Roses are special to Mary and there are many legends about roses and Mary. A favorite one is about the roses (and lilies) that were found in Mary’s tomb after she was assumed into heaven, with doubting Thomas watching in astonishment.

Indoor dish Mary Gardens can be a source of prayer and inspiration for those who are homebound or without access to an outdoor space for a garden. Bonnie Roberson, cited by John Stokes as a pioneer in developing variations in Mary Gardens, created indoor gardens for the blind, sick and homebound.

Roberson researched tropical and sub-tropical plans appropriate for indoor gardens. Her suggestions included geranium, lady palm, asparagus fern, African violet, jasmine and miniature rose.

All of the plants mentioned above have Mary names, which can be found on the Mary’s Gardens web site and in my book, Mary’s Flowers: Gardens, Legends and Meditations.

See http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/m_garden/marygardensmain.html for Dish Mary Garden photos.

In his article, Patio Container Mary Gardens, written in August, 1998, and found on the Mary’s Gardens web site, John Stokes wrote:

“In gardens composed with a view to color, white flowers are symbolic, for our meditation, of Mary's immaculate purity; red of her love of God; blue of her fullness with the waters of grace; purple of her sorrows at the foot of the Cross; and gold of her glorification as heavenly Mother and Queen.

“Or the composition may be a selection of specially loved flowers. Thus the heart-shaped buds of red begonias recall the love of Mary's Immaculate Heart. Petunias, known as "Our Lady's Praises" in Germany, recall the original Communion Verse for the Mass for the feast of the Rosary of Mary (October 7th), established in 1573, which we are to emulate:

Send forth flowers as the Lily,
and yield a fragrance,
And bring forth leaves in grace,
and praise with canticles,
And bless the Lord in his works."

Sirach 39:13-14 (Ecclesiasticus 39:18-19)

“The flowers of impatiens from their constancy of bloom are known as "Mother Love" and, from their curved flower stems, as "Our Lady's Earrings" - pure adornments for the ears of Mary, who "heard the word of God and kept it." Miniature roses are symbolic of the virgin birth of Christ, as in the carol, "Lo How a Rose 'ere Blooming". Plants with spearlike foliage recall the sword of sorrow piercing Mary's heart. Tuberous begonias (the tubers coming to life in nature when watered), bring to mind the Resurrection.”

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