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This disc archives fifty-five years of Mary's Gardens research of some 1,150
"Flowers of Our Lady" found to be named in the oral traditions of
the Medieval countrysides for symbolic, legendary, liturgical and
other Church association with Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the Blessed
Virgin Mary and Saints.
 These
flower names from Medieval oral folk tradition have been preserved
thanks primarily to fifteenth and sixteenth century botanical scientists who
in their extensive geographical surveys, classification and
cataloguing of plants in the various European countries
scientifically identified and named plants by Latin botanical
family, genus and species; and who also recorded the popular folk
names by which they found they were known in each
locality. They recorded these in "floras" for each
country for the scientific record, and so that other botanists
collecting specimens, or horticulturists collecting plants for
cultivation, would know what to tell locals in each area they were
looking for.
With the concurrent introduction of printing and general literacy,
these records were published as floras and herbals. Noting the
large number of religious popular or common plant names recorded,
Johannis Bauhin wrote "De Plantis A Divis Sanctisve Nomen
Habentibus" ("Plants Which Have Various Holy Names") in Basil in
1591, listing some 162 plants.
Thus, the combination of recording accurately both the scientific
names by which plants came to be known universally, and the common
names by which they were known in the localities in which they were
observed growing in nature, has produced the accuracy with which
they can be listed today, together with common names by which they
are now generally known.
Concurrently, customs and legends, including those of religious
popular traditions, were recorded by folklorists - with the plants
involved in these recorded by their common names. Finally, the
plant names recorded in the printing of these researches were
included in the dictionaries compiled by lexicographers - such as in
the Oxford English Dictionary.
The immediate and primary purposes of this research by Mary's
Gardens were: 1) to find from their photographs, as catalogued on
this disk, or from the flowers themselves, those flowers of Our Lady
for which the religious symbolism indicated by their names would
intuitively be
evident in beholding them - so that religious reflection and
meditation would be quickened and illuminated as they are cared for
in the Mary Garden; and 2) as a basis for determining which of the
flowers are available from commercial seed companies and plant
nurseries, or or from botanical garden rare seed exchanges - for
cultivation in Mary Gardens today.
Overall, it turned out that roughly half of the flowers of the
research were intuitively symbolic when first viewed according to
their religious names; and half were not - the latter with forms
which in the available photos didn't correspond to the symbolism of
the names, or with general names such as Mary's "Flower", "Plant" or
"Herb", for which the specific association was not immediately
evident. Over a period of time, the name symbolism for some
flowers which was thus not immediately apparent from photos or from
the plants themselves, was discovered from further photos or from
observing the plant growth cycle from seedling to wilting to seed
pod formation.
Thus, for example, the basis of the "Our Lady's Shoes" symbolism of
columbine was not discovered until the spurs of the wilting blooms
fell to the ground in the garden; the basis of the "Rosary Bead"
symbolism of the Canna Lily, until the little round seed pods
formed; that of the "Christ's Nails" symbolism of Carthusian Pink
until a photo was come upon (just one of several hundred found in a
Google Image Internet search) which showed its pointed seed pods;
and the "Our Lady's Basin" symbolism of fullers' teasel until rain
water was observed to remain in the cavity where two leaves joined
directly at the stem.
However, all flowers
associated by name with Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin
an d
the Saints were retained in the overall research list - in
their honor, and with the hope of finding the basis of their
symbolic names in further flower observation or photo research - and
also to provide the fullest number of flowers from which to choose
in making horticultural selections for overall Mary Garden beauty.
Additionally, we came to see that since all flowers were associated
with Mary by the Church Fathers as her "signatures" - from Isaiah's
prophecy of the virgin birth of the Redeemer under the image of the
miraculous blooming Rod of Jesse - especially beautiful
flowers in which no particular symbolism was discerned may have been
associated with Mary as "her flowers": as specially symbolic of her
spiritual beauty, the beauty of holiness. It also may have
been envisioned that Mary herself cultivated "her flowers" - in
Nazareth, or in her house in which she is believed to have dwelt in
later years with St. John in Ephesus.
Another significant discovery was that the mosaic of Mary Garden
flower symbolism of the Gospel and Rosary mysteries prompts
continuing, in depth reflection and meditation on them in the
context of one's involvement in the way of the world. Through
this reflection on the Flowers of Our Lady, entry is thus gained
into the pre-literate Age of Faith - the age of nature symbols,
cathedral pilgrimages and religious art, and of itinerant preachers,
mendicant friars, wandering minstrels, roving players, pilgrims,
merchants, missionaries and other travelers.
Finally, by their dates the research lists, seed and plant
availability lists and plantings lists of various Mary Gardens on
this disc document the development of the Flowers of Our Lady and
Mary Gardens restoration in present day religious and gardening
culture.
Research from John Stokes
Additional Flowers
Return to The Mary Page
This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,
Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by Kelly Bodner was last modified
Monday, 07/07/2008 08:13:31 EDT by Victor Pennekamp. Please send any comments to
Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.
URL for this page is http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/flowers3.html
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