Most Catholics know that May is Mary’s month. The Catholic Church dedicates May to Mary because May is the height of spring and symbolizes new life, beauty and renewal all of which mirrors Mary’s role din bringing the Light of the World (Jesus) into the world. Mary is crowned Queen of Heaven in May, and traditionally flowers are presented to her. Many people also have Mary gardens in their homes, which consist of a statue of the Blessed Mother and specially chosen flowers. While any flowers can be placed in a Mary garden, several are traditional: marigolds, roses, lilies, lavender and violets.
I have never had a Mary garden, but I have been longing to plant one this year. My husband and I were lucky to buy a home with a well established garden, which it is clear the previous owners very intentionally planted to be a pollinator’s garden. We love the layout and flowers already established in the garden, but there are definitely things we want to add.
We want to add several roses bushes and vines at the back of the garden. Ideally, this is where I would love to have a statue of Mary, but I’m not sure our budget will stretch that far this year with some of the other outdoor work we need to do.
So I am planning a mini Mary garden.
My Mini Mary Garden
My little garden includes a larger planter pot, several plants of marigolds, pansies and snapdragons. I’m sticking to annuals because our own garden is perennial, but I do love annual flowers, and also because it is more practical to only plant annual flowers in a pot. And of course, I will include a statue of Mother Mary.
My plan is include Mary at centre at the back of the pot and plant the flowers around her. Marigold’s are traditional for Mother Mary (they are called Mary’s Gold) and snapdragons are known as Jesus’ infant shoes. Violets are for humility and pansies are known as Our Lady’s Delight. Oddly enough, these are all favourite flowers of mine.
You can also include other annual flowers that are connected to Mary such as Larkspur and sweet alyssum if you are looking for a greater variety.
The Mary Garden of My Dreams
While I am excited to plant this mini Mary garden, I am still thinking about a larger, more permanent garden. I would like to plant some vines at the back of the garden to give us more privacy and greenery at the back of the garden. And in the middle, I would love a statue of the Blessed Mother and to plant roses all around her. I’ve always loved roses and would love to have a variety of rose bushes. We’ll see what the future holds.
Creating the mini Mary garden was super easy and I am glad I finally had the chance to do so! May has been chilly and rainy this year and we were afraid of frost so we had to hold off quite a bit longer than I would have liked to. But, the garden is planted and I am hoping the flowers fill out more fully. I love to be able to honour Mary in this way and hope that maybe next year I plant a more permanent garden for Mother Mary.
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