My Mary garden is in an enclosed bed along the back wall of my garage, and is in full sun. The brick wall makes a nice backdrop but gets too hot for my original plan, which was to grow annual Morning Glories up twine staked to hooks in the wall with twine. So for a vertical element, I bought a metal sculpture of a flower meant to hold colored bottles on its “petals.” Placed behind the statue, it makes a decorative halo. The garden has a sculpture made of plates and glasses, which peeks out from the taller plants, and metal angel that holds a citronella candle over some of the shorter flowers.

When first looking at plants, I discovered that almost all perennials, as well as many annuals, have “Mary names.” So rather than going by names, I chose plants that bloom in blue, purple, white, or lavender (which sometimes means pink), and which bloom in succession – from the early spring blooms of the ground covers to the early fall Ornamental Garlic. I grow sage as a perennial bush (the warm wall keeps it alive) and chives in a pot; each year I plant different annual herbs in a pot to keep them from spreading – they’re inexpensive and useful in the kitchen, and the different shades of greens add visual interest. This year I plan to add Forget-me-not, a Mary Garden favorite, in a pot by Mary’s feet.

Suggested plants for Mary Garden, Gail Finke

Ground covers:
Periwinkle – Vinca (blue flowers) and Woodrue (white flowers)

Tall plants:
Purple coneflower
Shasta daisy (white flower)
Hydrangea “Annabelle” variety (white flower)
Garden phlox (white flower)
Ornamental garlic (white flowers)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia – blue flower)
Be careful with Spiderwort, they are almost impossible to remove!

Medium Plants:
Purple Daylily
Lavender “Hidcote” variety (purple flower)
Sage (pinkish –purple flower)
Lamb’s Ear (pinkish purple flowers on greenish white spikes)
Chives (purple flower)
Scented Geranium (spreading variety – purple flower)

Short flowers/bulbs
Grape Hyacinth (purple flower)

Herbs for herb pot:
Rosemary
Thyme
Orgenao
Basil

Flowering Vine:
Clematis “Nelly Moser” variety (striped purple flower)

To Enter The Catholic Telegraph’s Show us your Mary Garden Contest, click here