AMary garden is a smallsacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of theVirgin Mary, who is known to manyChristians as theBlessed Virgin,Our Lady, or theMother of God.[1] In theNew Testament, Mary is the mother ofJesus of Nazareth. Mary gardens are most common to those Christian denominations which hold the Virgin Mary in special esteem, particularlyRoman Catholics andAnglicans.
The practice originated among monasteries and convents inmedieval Europe. During the Middle Ages, people saw reminders of Mary in the flowers and herbs growing around them.[2][3][4]
The first such garden open to the public in the United States was founded in 1932 at St. Joseph's Church,Woods Hole,Cape Cod,Massachusetts.[5] This garden was founded by Frances Crane Lillie, a summer resident of Woods Hole.[6]
Inspired by the St. Joseph's Mary Garden in Woods Hole, Edward A. G. McTague and John S. Stokes, Jr. founded "Mary's Gardens" of Philadelphia in 1951 as a project to research flowers identified with Mary, and make available seeds and plant source information for starting Mary gardens. They also initiated a series of articles in religious publications to encourage the planting of Mary gardens.[7][8]
The statue of Mary, sometimes holding theInfant Christ, is central to the garden. Select flowers, shrubs, and trees associated with the legends about Mary are planted in the garden. Such plants may includelaurel trees, strawberries,ladyslippers,lilies of the valley,peonies,violets,irises and roses, all of which are identified assymbolic and significant in the story of Mary as recounted in the Bible and other Christian stories. Gardens may have benches and a facility for lightingvotive candles.
It demonstratesdevotional commitment through thespiritual practice of designing, building and maintaining the garden and for the attendance,contemplation, and prayers of visitors. Mary gardens are similar to theZenmeditation gardens found in theBuddhist tradition, with the exception that a Mary Garden pays homage to a person, the Virgin Mary, whereas a meditation garden in the East Asian traditions does not focus on a person.[9][2]
More than 30 flowers and herbs are connected to legends about Mary's life.[2][10][11]
An effort has been made by the Saint Kateri Conservation Center as well as by the Marianist Environmental Education Center (MEEC) to identify plants indigenous to the Eastern and Midwestern US that can be used in a Mary Garden.
