Springtime: Mary's Month

“Here’s flowers for you;

Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;

The marigold, that goes to bed with the sun,

And with him rises weeping; these are flowers

Of middle summer, and, I think, they are given

To men of middle age.” 

Shakespeare The Winter’s Tale

Flowers and herbs are included in works of Christian art not only because they are pretty and decorative, but also because they had a particular meaning. A bouquet or wreath to honor Mary can be made of real flowers or silk flowers, and could include those that traditionally symbolize Mary and her virtues and attributes. Here are some examples:
Our Lady of the Flowers

"The mood of springtime informs the church's interior; nature's blossoming, the warm air of May evenings, human gladness in a world that is renewing itself -- all these things enter in. Veneration of Mary has its place in this very particular atmosphere, for she, the Virgin, shows us faith under its youthful aspect, as God's new beginning in a world that has grown old. In her we see the Christian life set forth as a youth-fullness of the heart, as beauty and a waiting readiness for what is to come."

-- Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Seek That Which is Above (Ignatius, 1986), pp. 95-96.

Mary gardens existed way back in the Middle Ages when flowers referred to Our Lady's life, attributes and virtues. Every monastery and convent had a special Mary garden to provide flowers in May that it became Mary's month, and people delighted in decorating her statue and altar with flowers. It is said that in those days of faith, the flowers honored Mary, the Perfect flower; the "Mystical Rose". The beauty and peculiar characteristics of various flowers reminded the medieval men and women of Our Lady, and so they received their names.

Now that you know some of the flower legends immortalized by the attributes and virtues of Our Blessed Mother; spend time with the meditations they inspire.