Gardening - Christian symbolism

I am interested in the religious aspects of plants and flowers especially as they relate to Christian symbolism in the garden. Anyone out there with the same interest?

I have several books on bible gardens, Mary gardens, and how flowers got their names. It is amazing how many are named for Mary. I hope someday to plant a bible garden and a garden with all the flowers that are named for Mary.

Is (Mary's Flowers: Gardens, Legends, and Meditations) one of them? I would be interested in any books on Bible gardening as well. Have you been to mgardens.org? I bet you watch EWTN too!

Yes, I have that book. Allan Swenson have written several books on bible gardens, but you can also find lots of info online. And yes, I do watch EWTN occasionally. I will check out mgardens.org.

I wouldn't call it an interest but I do find little tidbits of christian or herbal trivia ...well, interesting!

My graduate work in art history focused on late medieval Netherlandish paintings that show the Virgin and Child in an enclosed garden. My research included learning about medieval gardens and determining how much of the hardscaping shown in the religious paintings was based on actual gardens.

These days I develop and lead programs for my Center for Sacred Art (www.centerforsacredart.org), which explores how traditional sacred arts can support and enrich contemporary spiritual practice. Among many other programs we offer workshops and weekend retreats focused on the idea of the Virgin Mary's enclosed garden (hortus conclusus). Another area of my research and teaching is involved with the floral illuminations that decorate borders and margins of late medieval Books of Hours.

Mary Gardens--actual gardens planted in honor of the Virgin Mary, often with plants that are symbolic of her life and virtues--are an area that I'm continuing to research. I'm collecting photographs of contemporary Mary Gardens and am always looking for more examples.

I am just checking Librarything after being away for several months. What a fascinating area of research! What conclusion did you reach?
I planted a parish Mary Garden several years ago and have pictures and plant list. I could try to send them to you if you like. I was inspired after a visit to the Mary Garden at St. Josephs Church in Woods Hole MA. It was a place of peace and respite and beauty overlooking the harbour.
Another place of interest for scholars is the Mary Library at the University of Dayton.