Upcoming on August 15 is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrating the day Our Lord took Our Lady to heaven.According to the flower calendar in the Collectanea of Vincent Stuckey Lean (1820-1899), the blossoms of a certain plant fall around Assumption Day:
The Virgin's Bower begins to blow."
The plant V.S. Lean is referring to is Clematis vitalba, known in Catholic horticulture as "Virgin's Bower" or "Our Lady's Bower".
Clematis vitalba is a member of the ranunculus family. It is a climbing vine with medium green leaves shaped like elongated hearts. The plant grows vigorously and forms a canopy or thicket. It blooms during the summer with starry white blossoms. When the blossoms fall, they leave greenish seed heads. As the seed heads ripen, tufts of wispy, silver fibers emerge. The seed heads and fibers are lovely in winter.
The idea is that the canopy the plant makes is a bedchamber for Our Blessed Mother. When she is taken up to heaven, she no longer needs the canopy so the blossoms fall and blow away.
One can learn more about the plant here.
Image:
Clematis vitalba, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment