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Mary Gardens

© Kirk Johnson

A Mary Garden is a garden devoted to the Virgin Mary. An ideal Mary Garden is always an enclosed garden, a direct descendant of Medieval gardens. In the Middle Ages, the Song of Songs was strongly connected with the Virgin Mary, "A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed". Many Medieval representations of gardens show the Virgin Mary in an enclosed garden. While the details of the gardens undoubtedly reflect real Medieval gardens, it is uncertain how typical they are of Medieval gardens, since the paintings are not intended to be a representation of a real garden, they are a visual interpretation of the Song of Songs.

In Medieval paintings, the concept of a sealed fountain was sometimes represented by a small geometric pool with a small gothic tower or column at it's center. In representations of secular pleasure gardens, water flows from similar columns, but in painting of the Virgin Mary in an enclosed garden, no water flows. It would be fine to have water in the pool, since Medieval theologians interpreted this as a well of living waters, the water of eternal life. It just might be most appropriate if the fountain didn't play, the water could be recirculated in a less obvious way.

There are quite a few flowers which are closely connected with the Virgin Mary, but there are 3 which are so closely connected with her that they should be included in every Mary Garden if at all possible; these flowers are roses, lilies and iris. From a design point of view, these three plants combine well. The sword shaped leaves of the iris and the thrusting stems of lilies contrast perfectly with the billowing shapes of old roses. If I were to create a Mary Garden, it would mainly be an enclosed rose garden, with plenty of lilies and iris.

Of all the flowers, the rose is the most closely connected with the Virgin Mary. Among Mary's titles are: First rose of martyrs, Rose soothing the afflicted, Rose giving back to all the destiny of salvation, Rose white by virginity, Rose ruddy by love, Rose white in seeking virtue, Rose ruddy in trampling vices, Rose white in purifying the affections, Rose ruddy in mortifying the flesh, Rose white in loving God, Rose ruddy in pitying her neighbor, Flowers of the roses in springtime, Roseplant in Jerusalem, Rosebush in Jericho, and Royal virgin of David's rose.

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