A few weeks ago, I mentioned my growing love of flowers, and it has only been within the past couple of months that I have been inspired to sow a little garden in honor of our Lady.
Katrina Harrington's, of Rose Harrington, beautiful work was the first to tip me off to the wonderfully rich symbolism of flowers and their ability to draw us deeper into prayer.
One of my favorite aspects of Catholicism is it's sacramental view of the world. In the words of John S. Stokes Jr. whose research I have only just begun delving into, says,
"...religious symbolism of the objects of nature and of daily life, serve to maintain and heighten our awareness that all our thoughts and acts are to be directed towards our sanctification, our works of mercy and our building of the earthly Kingdom of love, peace, justice and a sufficiency of goods for all..."
In medieval times, hundreds of flowers were named as symbols of the life, mysteries and privileges of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Growing a Mary Garden is a way of reflecting on her graces and attributes which ultimately and always point us to her Son. As I mentioned, I'm only just scratching the surface to John Stokes' work, and I'm eager to learn more.
Funny enough, before I knew any of this, back in January I ordered seeds from Floret Flower Farm after reading the founder's gorgeous and actually instructive book, "Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms." I was jazzed about learning the whole process of growing my own flowers for arranging, but my focus was refined, or redirected to something much more powerful. I was delighted to find many of the seeds/bulbs I had purchased held beautiful meaning, which I've listed out below for anyone who is interested.
I'll report back to let you know which ones actually survive and thrive in our little garden, ha!
