Mary's Star (the daffodil)

 

Another flower associated with the upcoming feast of the Annunciation in the old English table of flowers is the daffodil (genus narcissus).  The genus narcissus includes many species including what is commonly referred to as narcissus as well as paper whites and yellow jonquils (depicted below).

 

 

Several internet sites proclaim that the daffodil is "Mary's Star" but do not offer a story to explain the association.   It seems quite possible, however -- given the shape and white or yellow color of the blossoms -- that the connection is to the 12 stars that make up Mary's crown.

The source for Mary being crowned with 12 stars is the New Testament Book of the Apocalypse or Revelation. Written by the Apostle John, it refers in verse 12:1 to the “great sign of the woman in the sky, … clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

 

St. Bonaventure preached a sermon on another Marian feast day -- the Assumption -- where he connected the twelve stars to twelve attributes of Mary that might be summarized as follows:

1.       Freedom from sin

2.       Purity

3.       Fullness of grace

4.       Perfect knowledge of God

5.       Perfect virtue of charity

6.       Excellence in acts of charity

7.       Exaltation above all other pure creatures

8.       Embodiment of dignity

9.       Childbirth without suffering

10.     Virgin and mother

11.      Highest dignity as the Mother of God

12.     Mother of God in the flesh and mother of men and women in the spirit

Thus, twelve daffodils divided into two small vases with some slender foliage might make a simple but very meaningful altar flower arrangement for March 25.

Source for text about 12 stars:  Johann G. Roten, S.M., "What is the Twelve-Star Devotion?"

Images:

Dolci's Madonna.  From Wikimedia Commons.  In the public domain.

Yellow daffodils.  From Wikimedia Commons.  Click for license.

Almond Blossoms and the Blessed Virgin

This lovely painting of almond blossoms is by the 19th century Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh.  It accompanies today's post because the old English table of flowers to which I've been referring includes almond blossoms among the flowers associated with the upcoming Feast of the Annunciation (March 25).

The association of Mary with almond blossoms is found in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament:

"And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and all the princes gave him rods one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron. [7] And when Moses had laid them up before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony: [8] He returned on the following day, and found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded: and that the buds swelling it had bloomed blossoms, which spreading the leaves, were formed into almonds. [9] Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw, and every one received their rods. [10] And the Lord said to Moses: Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be kept there for a token of the rebellious children of Israel, and that their complaints may cease from me lest they die."

        (Numbers 17:7-10.  Italics added.)

According to a footnote in the Douay-Rheims Bible,  "This rod of Aaron which thus miraculously brought forth fruit, was a figure of the blessed Virgin conceiving and bringing forth her Son without any prejudice to her virginity."

Image:   Vincent van Gogh's Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom.  From Wikimedia Commons.  In the public domain.

Our Lady's Smock

Among the flowers associated with the upcoming Feast of the Annunciation in the old English table of flowers is Our Lady's Smock.  Its botanical name is Cardamine Pratensis.  In the secular world it is called "Lady's Smock" or the "cuckoo flower".

Secular sources will also tell you that it is called simply "Lady's Smock" (without the "Our") because the blossoms look like women's smocks.  But the origin of the name is definitely in Marian devotion.  "Lady-Tide" is a name for the feast of the Annunciation in England and an old verse says:

"Then comes the Daffodil aside Our Lady's Smock at our Lady-Tide". 

Image:  Our Lady's Smock growing in UK. From Wikimedia Commons.  In the public domain.

Source for text:  Elizabeth Lawrence, Through the Garden Gate, p. 49.

Our Lady and the Marigold

According to Mary gardener John Stokes, there is a legend about the plant commonly known as the marigold that explains its name.  The story is that during the flight into Egypt bandits came upon the Holy Family and stole Mary's purse.  But when the robbers tore open the bag expecting a bounty of gold coins, what fell out instead was . . . marigold blossoms.

According to another author, Brother John M. Samaha, S.M., the plant blooms at the time of the various festivals in honor of Mary. He also explains that the plant was given the botanical name of calendula officinalis because it blooms on most or all of the calendae -- that is, the first days of the month. 

Interestingly, according to Brother John this flower relates to Our Lady in another way too:

"Sometimes described as 'the flower of grief', the marigold actually weeps on occasion.  Droplets gather in the flower during the night and drip off like tears when it opens in the morning.  This characteristic moved Shakespeare to write in A Winter's Tale:
'The Marygold that goes to bed with the sun, / And with him rises weeping.'"

The marigold would certainly be a good flower to include in any beginner's Mary Garden.

Image:  Marigold  From Wikimedia Commons.  Click for license.

Sources for text:   Mary's Flowers ; Mary's Gold

The Annunciation Lily

 

Upcoming on March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation.  The Archangel Gabriel's encounter with Our Lady at the time of her fiat has inspired countless works of art.  In an Annunciation painting by Giovanni Bellini, a detail of which is shown above, Gabriel presents Mary with a lilium candidum, commonly known as the Madonna Lily -- and also as the Annunciation Lily.

Many sources describe the lily as signifying the Virgin's freedom from sin and so it does.  But, interestingly,  some see the lily as also standing for Our Lord's purity, such that the Archangel is symbolically giving Our Lord to the Blessed Mother when he presents her with the flower.

One should also note that in Bellini's lovely painting Archangel Gabriel is wearing a crown of olive.  Olive branches signify peace -- the peace brought by Our Lord's incarnation.  And, as I noted in my post Silence, Annunciation, Incarnation, which features a painting by Simone Martini, the crown of olives is the crown of the Holy Ghost.

Image:  Detail from Bellini's Annunciation.  From Wikimedia Commons.  In the public domain.