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.

Beautiful Mary: Our Lady of the Flowers

There are many ways in honoring Our Blessed Mother; one way to honor Mary this month is by recalling flowers and herbs named after her. The attributes of Mary called out by flowers can serve as starting points for prayer and meditation about Mary and her life.

May, really is a fanfare of nature coming to life as I mentioned here a few days ago. Celebrations honoring new life became associated with Mary since the Middle Ages.

Here's another poem in honor to Our Lady of the Flowers:

The faithful saw Mary's attributes in the herbs and flowers growing around them and named many plants after her. Legends about the flowers developed as people sought to connect them with events from Mary's life.

Mary was associated with this passage from the Song of Songs:
"I am the Rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys."

The rose is regarded as the "queen of flowers", and often symbolizes Mary, the Queen of Heaven. Rose is also an almost universal symbol of perfect love, its color, perfection of form, and fragrance, as well as its thorns which signifies Mary's role in salvation history as the Mother of Jesus Christ Our Savior who was crowned with thorns and shed His blood on the Cross for love of mankind. The rose, arising from a thorny bush, also signifies Mary, the Mystical Rose, "our fallen Nature's solitary boast", who alone of the human race was conceived without sin. It also may contain a parallel with the fiery thorn bush from which God spoke to Moses: Mary, immaculately conceived, was the means through which God became Man, The Word made flesh.

Rose legends proliferated, reaching their peak in the twelfth century. The Rosa Alba turned pink when Mary blushed at the angel's Annunciation, the Christmas Rose sprang up to provide flowers for the poor shepherd girl who had no gift for the Infant Jesus, the Rose of Jericho marked the spot where the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt, and the Rose Campion saved the life of a lord who prayed "Our Lady's Psalter." 

In the fourteenth century the poet Dante called Mary "the Rose, in which the divine Word became flesh...." Many artists of the fifteenth century painted Mary with roses, often in a rose garden. 

Tradition tells us that the Amazon lily was the Star of Bethlehem guiding the Magi to Jesus. Other lilies were associated with Mary. The red lily was Mary's lily, and the Martagon or turban lily was called Our Lady's Tears. Hosta or plantain lily was the Assumption lily. Easter or Madonna lilies and lilies-of-the-valley-- white color and sweet fragrance symbolize Mary's purity, humility, loving obedience to God's will. Jesus is also called Lily of the Valley.The Iris;old-fashioned names were "flag" or "sword lily": the deep-blue color symbolizes Mary's fidelity, and the blade-shaped foliage denotes the sorrows that "pierce her heart". The iris flower is the "fleur-de-lis" of France. This symbol of the Blessed Virgin is also the symbol of the cities of Florence and of Saint Louis.

Click to read more about Mary's Flowers

Source/Reference: Mary's Flowers and its meaning