Mary garden

A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statute or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In Christian tradition, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ. Mary gardens are most common to those Christian denominations which hold the Virgin Mary in special esteem, particularly Roman Catholics and Anglicans.

The practice originated among monasteries and convents in medieval Europe. The first such garden open to the public in the United States was founded in 1932 at St. Joseph's Church, Woods Hole, Cape Cod,Massachusetts.

The statute of Mary, sometimes holding the Infant Christ, is central to the garden. Select flowers, shrubs, and trees associated with the legends around Mary are planted in the garden. Such plants may include laurel trees, strawberries, ladyslippers, lilies of the valley, peonies, violets, irises and roses. All of which are identified as symbolic and significant in the story of Mary as recounted in the Bible or in Christian legend. Gardens are also frequently provided with benches and a facility for lighting votive candles.

The purpose served by a garden is to demonstrate devotional commitment through the spiritual practiceof designing, building and maintaining the garden and then for the attendance, contemplation, and prayers of those who visit the garden. Mary gardens are similar to the Zen meditation gardens found within the Buddhist tradition