Don't You Love May?

This Friday, May 13, is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. May crowning at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church following the 8:00 am Mass.

And for those of you looking to create a Mary garden, here are some plant suggestions from Rita Heikenfeld:

• Angelica – stands for St. Michael the archangel and angels – blooms on his feastday.
• Cilantro – the seed of this plant, Coriander, is sometimes mentioned as the manna of the Bible.
• Cornflower: Mary’s crown
• Costmary – I love this herb – it’s called the Bible herb because folks used to put a leaf in their Bible to keep them awake during long sermons. It has a balsam like aroma.
• Day Lillies – These are edible but most lilies represent our Lady for her purity and chastity. White Lilies especially. And Angel Gabriel is often shown holding a lily.
• Flax – it has beautiful blue flowers and the linen from the shroud of Turin is supposed to have been made from the stem of this flower.
• Forget Me Nots – These remind us of Mary’s eyes. They’re a beautiful blue.
• Forget-me-not: Eyes of Mary (beautiful blue)
• Garlic, leeks & onions – not fragrant is a sweet sense, but all mentioned in the Bible.
• Impatiens – A Mother’s love
• Larkspur: Mary’s tears
• Marigold – I like Calendula, an edible member of this family and one I use in my homemade spa products. “Mary’s Gold” equates itself also with sunflowers and common marigolds.
• Mary’s Bedstraw – it’s a low growing perennial that looks like what might have been put in the manger. My statue of Mary stands on the bedstraw.
• Mint, Fennel and Dill – all tithing herbs but great in cooking
• Mint: A variety of Spearmint is called Mary’s mint.
• Morning Glory: Our Lady’s mantle
• Oregano/Hyssop –Moses told the Israelites to dip a branch of hyssop in lamb’s blood to mark their door posts.
• Pansies – These are called Our Lady’s Delight.
• Poppy: Christ’s blood
• Rosemary – supposedly this herb was named Rosemary because Mary tossed her blue cloak over the bush and the flowers turned blue. This is a piney tasting herb full of antioxidants.
• Roses – another edible flower for the Mary Garden. It becomes a nice background bush.
• Snapdragon – another edible flower which is called infant Jesus’ shoes
• Strawberries: Designated as the fruit of Mary
• Sweet Allysum: Flower of the Cross
• Thyme – this herb grew wild in the hills of Jerusalem and the area. Some folks use this as a bed for the manger.
• Violets
• Zinnia: Virgin