Saint and Marian Gardens

I have an extensive collection of herb books... I would venture to say that it is better than most at least! It takes up the best part of a small bookcase, and the reason it is good, is because I also collect some of the older books out there.
One such older, herb book, is Herb Gardens of Delight by Adelma Grenier Simmons... who is an author of note for those interested in herbs.

My favourite garden in the book, is the one she calls a Garden of the Saints. It features a design in the shape of a cross, a statue of the Blessed Mother at the foot, surrounded by Marian plants. The saints Fiacre and Francis are there, surrounded by symbolic plants too.
Her list of plants include those mentioned in the Bible and those which are given names or legends to go with the Saints.

You can read a little about the so called 'garden saints' here.


This one, is St. Fiacre, the 'Patron Saint of Gardeners' :)









Of course, you might remember my Easter Garden... here is a picture of one at St. Francis de Sales Church, England.
It shows the empty tomb after the resurrection...
it's also fairly easy to incorporate into your child's garden!!

There is a legend told us about the Rosemary bush... how, when the Blessed Mother was travelling one day with her infant son, she had need of a place to dry his swaddling clothes after washing them in a stream. She placed them on a nearby bush, with pretty, small white flowers.
Once dried, she was pleased with the scent they imparted, and blessed the bush, whose flowers turned blue forever after, and the flower is known by her name... RoseMARY :) See the full rosemary picture here.

For more information on Marian Gardens, you can visit the sites in my sidebar links ;) or those below:

This garden and some instructions can be found here at http://www.catholicmom.com.

Other Links:

• Flowers of Our Lady and Mary Gardens

• Mary Gardens Homepage