Plant Your Own Mary Garden
The month of May is dedicated to honoring Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. Throughout the month, we celebrate several Marian feast days, including the feast of Our Lady of Fatima and the Visitation. One way to celebrate our Lady this May is by planting a Mary Garden. The beauty of a garden in full bloom reminds us of the beauty and grace of our Blessed Mother. Its fruitfulness also reminds us of the fruit of Mary’s womb, Jesus, and how she is always leading us closer to her Son.
Before you start planting, you will need a statue or image of Mary as the centerpiece of your garden. The Catholic Company offers many beautiful Mary garden statues. Then you can begin gathering flowers and gardening tools. If you are a beginner gardener, Floret Flowers offers free information and online courses and books to help you get started.
Here are four simple steps for planting your own Mary garden:
1. Pick your flowers. Choose based on what grows best in your climate and soil type. Or just pick what you think is pretty! You can purchase seeds at your local garden center or online. Some of our favorite seed suppliers are Renee’s Garden and Botanical Interests.
You can also choose to plant flowers that are traditionally associated with Mary. Roses symbolize Mary for their beauty and sweet fragrance. When we pray the Rosary, which means “rose garden,” we are offering the Blessed Mother a crown of roses. Lilies represent her purity and virtue. Carnations are believed to have blossomed at the birth of Christ and symbolize the Incarnation. If you are interested in learning more about traditional flower theology, there are many online resources detailing the thousands of plants associated with Mary.
2. Pick a good location. Ideally your garden will be in a well-draining spot in your yard and get at least several hours of full sun per day. If you don’t have an area of bare soil to use, try using pots or window boxes. You could also plant your flowers in a reusable plant bag, which is ideal for small spaces.
If weather or space do not allow you to plant an outdoor Mary garden, there are still many ways to honor this tradition. You can create a small container garden in an area that gets plenty of natural sunlight with your Marian image or statue at the center. Additionally, House of Joppa offers a Mini Mary Garden, a maintenance-free terrarium perfect for apartment dwellers.
You can also decorate with botanical-inspired Marian artwork. Rose Harrington offers art prints that combine the mysteries of the Holy Rosary with historical flower theology. Additionally, Be A Heart has created a “Fruits of the Spirit” print featuring botanical fruits.
3. Make sure your soil is healthy. For containers, you can buy high-quality potting mix soil at any garden center. If planting in the ground, be sure to amend soil with compost or fertilizer. It is important that your soil has plenty of nutrients so your flowers can flourish.
4. Plant your seeds or baby plants and watch them grow! Don’t forget to water them frequently and pick weeds as needed. Tend to your garden frequently to ensure your flowers are thriving. Use pruning shears to snip away dying branches so they can grow back in abundance.
Tending to your Mary garden each day will also give you space to cultivate a deeper relationship with our Lady. Take time while you are taking care of your garden to ask for Mary’s intercession.
Planting a Mary garden allows us to intentionally honor the Blessed Mother and give her a place of honor in our environment. The month of May is the perfect time to start your own, with spring flowers flourishing and so many Marian feast days. Let us offer Mary our physical and spiritual bouquets in thanksgiving for her glorious fiat and obedience to the Father.
“She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley.” —Saint Augustine
