Giving thanks

As the year winds down now, winter on its way, it seems a perfect time to think of the past year and to give thanks for God’s blessings.

Mary’s Magnificat, her prayer of praise and thanksgiving, details his mercy, his strength and his many blessings.

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid;

for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

Because he that is mighty,

hath done great things to me;

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generations,

to them that fear him.

He hath shewed might in his arm:

he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat,

and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things;

and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath received Israel his servant,

being mindful of his mercy:

As he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

On November 21 we celebrate the presentation of Mary in the Temple. The Protoevengelium of James tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old, fulfilling a promise made to God when Anna was still childless. She was dedicated to God in preparation for her unique role in God’s saving work. On November 28, in the U.S., we will celebrate Thanksgiving, a time when we give thanks for all our blessings. It seems a fitting time to give thanks to God for the life and accomplishments of John Stokes, whose vision of flower gardens honoring Mary led to the establishment of Mary Gardens in the U.S. and many other countries. As we peruse John ‘s legacy, the Mary’s Gardens website, campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/m_garden/marygardensmain.html‎  we are grateful for his vision, his inspiration. ·

Indoor Mary Gardens

The legacy of John Stokes continues to amaze me. Winter is upon us and those of us in the northern part of the U.S. have put our gardens to bed for the winter.  But a quick search of the Mary Gardens web site brought information about “indoor dish Mary Gardens” as well as “windowsill dish Mary Gardens,” two options for those of us who want to continue to honor Mary with her flowers throughout the year.

Stokes recommends indoor Mary Gardens for the home bound and those living in climates which cannot sustain a year-round Mary Garden.  The example below appears on his web site.

Four or five of the plants listed below are suitable for a beginning indoor dish Mary Garden:

Religious Name         Botanical Name              Common Name

"Fair Olive Tree"      Olea Europea                Olive Tree

Trinity                Oxalis braziliensis         "Shamrock"

Star of Bethlehem      Begonia, rhizomatic hybrid  Star of Bethlm

Mary's Sword of Sorrow Iris gen.                   Iris

Crown of Thorns        Euphorbia splendens         Crown of Thorns

Tears of Mary          Cymbalaria muralis          Kenilworth Ivy

Mother-of-Thousands    Menthe Requine              Spanish Moss

Herb of Grace          Ruta graveolens             Rue

Mary's Heart           Begonia fuchsoides          Begonia

Our Lady's Mantle      Alchemilla vulgaris         Ladies Mantle

Rosary Vine            Ceropegia woodii            Heart Vine

Prayer Plant           Moranta Leuonerri Kerchon.  Prayer Plant

Plants are available from mail order greenhouses and some local house plant suppliers and can be ordered by common or botanical names.  Check out local greenhouses for availability. Two of the three that I contacted had herbs and indoor house plants in stock at this time.

Stokes writes that “Mary Gardens Associate, Bonnie Roberson, who assumed primary responsibility for carrying forward the work of Mary’s Gardens from 1968 to 1983, introduced  indoor dish Mary Gardens in order to extend the direct experience of the symbolical Flowers of Our Lady during northern latitude winters.”

First time Mary Gardeners are further encouraged to “plant an Indoor Windowsill Dish Mary Garden with one each of 4 to 6 House Plants of Our Lady, placed around a ceramic or plaster figurine of Mary or of Mary and the Christ Child in a deep dish of drained soil material.”

He writes:

Among the most inspiring Mary Gardens are windowsill Mary Gardens, in which a series of potted single plants are movably arranged around a figurine of Our Lady. The number of plants which can be grouped in a dish Mary Garden is limited, and the plants must be small….But in a windowsill Mary Garden the plants can be larger…and those plants in fullest bloom at any given season can be moved to positions next to the figurine.

The movability of plants also permits their grouping, variously, either in general artistic composition by their forms and colors….or in tableaus of composition by related symbolism, such as the Herbs of Our Lady” shown in the illustration below:  

Rosemary - Rose of Mary, Mary’s Nosegay

Sage - Mary’s Shawl

Lavender - Mary’s Drying Plant

Thyme - Mary’s Bedstraw

 

During the early darkness and gray of winter, a tiny bit of growth and green surrounding Mary and her Divine Child in our little garden remind us of the beginning of creation when, out of the depths and darkness, life spread over the earth. Maybe our day needs a reminder now and then of the birth of the greatest Light and Love of all, our little Lord Jesus who rests in the arms of his loving mother.