Mary garden

– **History**:
– Practice originated among monasteries and convents in medieval Europe.
– During the Middle Ages, people saw reminders of Mary in the flowers and herbs around them.

– **Modern Revival**:
– First public Mary garden in the US founded in 1932 at St. Josephs Church, Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
– Founded by Frances Crane Lillie, a summer resident of Woods Hole.
– Edward A. G. McTague and John S. Stokes, Jr. founded Marys Gardens of Philadelphia in 1951 to research flowers associated with Mary.
– Initiated articles in religious publications to encourage planting Mary gardens.

– **Description**:
– Central to the garden is a statue of Mary, sometimes holding the Infant Christ.
– Select flowers, shrubs, and trees associated with Mary’s legends are planted.
– Plants include laurel trees, strawberries, ladyslippers, lilies of the valley, peonies, violets, irises, and roses.
– Gardens may have benches and facilities for lighting votive candles.
– Demonstrates devotional commitment through designing, building, and maintaining the garden.

– **Flowers Associated with Mary**:
– More than 30 flowers and herbs are connected to legends about Mary’s life.
– Flowers include Lily, Columbine, Lavender, Madonna lily, and Marigold.
– Efforts made to identify indigenous plants for Mary gardens in the Eastern and Midwestern US.

– **Gallery**:
– Mary garden at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, North Carolina.
– Mary garden at St. Michaels College School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
– Mary garden at Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity at the West Point Military Academy in New York.