Portrait of Mary: A Medieval Mary Garden

For over 2000 years, painters, architects, poets, and spiritual fathers have used the fresh vivid symbols of the fragrant garden to awaken the senses and quicken reflection on the Mysteries of Christ as seen through the eyes of the His mother and first disciple, the Virgin Mary. Around the world, a collection of these legendary plants with Her image is called a Mary Garden.

In the Middle Ages, many people did not read or write and they learned from the laws of nature. So the faithful developed a visual lexicon based on the home garden. Using a plant’s form, color, or liturgical season of bloom, they illustrated the message of Christ and Mary's divine role in the salvation of mankind. The fragrant herb Rosemary (“rose of Mary”), the bright yellow Marigold (“Mary’s gold”) and the Passion Flower are just a few of over 500 flowers named to inviote meditation on Mary's grace, virtues, mysteries, and imaginary habits.

In today's urban societies of virtual environments, mass food distribution, diminishing green space, and secular focus, sacred garden symbols are fading from social memory. Fortunately, these symbols can be learned to deepen the understanding and appreciation of religious art in the Middle Ages. To that end, MMOFA presents its Paradise Garden teachng exhibition. Key features include the enclosed garden ("hortus conclusus") for Her virginity, a cascading fountain for the Well of Living Waters, a mosaic of flower symbols, and a garden Rosary with a focal sculpture of Madonna and Child set in a petite rose arbor grotto. A set of 58 devotional stepping stones also mark “the way of the garden rosary.” A book of Rosary prayers can be found at the front desk of the Museum.