Lady Gardens

The Lady Garden and the First Lady of Heaven

Gratitude for the “Fruit of Her womb”

Gardens have been on the rise for some time.  They come in all shapes, sizes, and varieties.  Any garden may be dedicated to Our Lady, Mamma Mary. Mary’s cousin Elizabeth witnessed with joy in her voice and heart: Blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. That’s how Our Lady is remembered in the second favorite Scriptural prayer of believers and ten times over-and-over in the Rosary, which means an exquisite, spiritual bouquet of roses.

So every garden is an image of Mary, its fruit, Jesus.  Therefore you can dedicate any garden: herbal, veggie, flower, rose, even a cabbage patch to Our Lady and her Son.  You can even dedicate an indoor version.   How? Honor the garden or planter with an image of the Madonna and Child. A outdoor statue under a small cedar shake or board roof is sufficient. A laminated holy card on a popsicle stick near a sunny kitchen window: a subtle reminder of being full of grace.  The author once laminated holy picture and nailed it to a post in the shade of an apple tree.

Bring summer fruits, herbs, flowers for the Assumption of Mary celebration at St Casimir's Church every Aug 15 at 7pm.  A Byzantine Marian devotion called, Akathyst, is sung at 6:40. After the blessing participants process to the tune of the bell tower and the scent of imported rose incense for Mass in Church. After Mass all women are anointed with blessed rose oil in the name of their patroness. Following the liturgy, a bread, herbal tea refreshments are served.

Flowers are Mary symbols.  Almost every country has local legends on how flowers and herbs signify some aspect of Mary’s virtue or life.  The two most common are rosemary and marigolds:

Rosemary along with juniper and clematis bush hid the family fleeing from King Herod’s soldiers.	Marigold Joseph could not pay the full cost for using the Bethlehem stable. Mary opened her purse, and marigolds , gifts of poor visitors, fell out.  On hitting the ground they became gold coins.	Rose Since the Middle Ages the center of a round rose or bud petals denoted Mary’s soul enclosed in her beautiful, immaculate body. Our Lady’s Litany refers to her as the Mystical Rose.
Lily  Symbol of the natural yet regal beauty of Mary’s purity. A proverb states a strong woman “stands as noble as the lily”.	Violets Archangel Gabriel blessed Mary’s violets before leaving Nazareth as symbols of her simplicity (small, growing close to the ground), with a light, sweet fragrance.	Rose of Sharon or rose of peace is a bush with white or purple flowers most of the summer. It denotes the lasting relationship between God and his people (Song of Songs 2:1) or Christ’s healing and the Church..
Primrose celebrates welcoming Mary in Irish tradition on the first of May.	Sunflower are associated with adoration. Their heads turn toward the sun and follow its path, which is the origin of their common name.	Lillac  This most fragrant of all flowering bushes honors the Mother of God by blooming during the month dedicated to her, May.
Corn Flower or Bachelor button Slavic peoples use it with flowering clover, the daisy, and goldmoss sedum to make wreaths blessed in June on the Feast of Corpus Christi or St. John the Baptist’s Eve. The wreath symbolizes the beauty of eternity.	Lilly of the Valley is a delicate, multiple bell-shaped, and pungently scented plant. Growing close to the ground it symbolizes the beauty of Mary’s humility and “odor of sanctity”, which received the blessed announcement (bells) of the conception of Jesus in her womb.	Fragrant myrtle stands as the most prized and desired of all herbage.  As queen of herbage it was used to adorn festive tablecloths, maiden’s wreaths, and bridal veils.  A home and green thumb which supported an old plant was considered blessed.
Pussy willow bushes bear Resurrection branches, as their cottony catkins are the first to announce the Lord’s Easter victory.  They are blessed on Palms Sunday and placed in family Easter baskets.	Blossoms or petals of any kind stand for beauty, life and the souls of the faithful departed in the spirituality of India.	Goldmoss sedum (sedum acre) a succulent groundcover, the infusion of which assists in digestion. With the cornflower, it is central to eternity wreaths (above): its bright yellow flowers emerge after picking.

A valuable resource on Lady Gardens is Vincenzina Krymow’s Mary’s Flowers: Gardens, Legends, and Meditations.