I have wished to plant a Mary Garden for many years. Last year on Mother's Day the boys gave me a wonderful statue of St. Francis; he now stands in the shady northwest corner of our yard. I love catching a glimpse of him out there, whether up close or just through the family room windows. Fittingly, this also happens to be where we do most (though not all) of our bird feeding and critter watching.
With May Day upon us, our thoughts lovingly turn to Mary. This year I wish to deepen our family's devotion to Our Blessed Mother. I thought the boys would enjoy choosing a special spot in our garden just for her. I love the idea of a Rosary garden (explained by Kristine in a thread at the 4Real Forums), and that could perhaps be a goal for the future. For now, though, I'll keep it a bit simpler ... a few plants and herbs as mentioned in the book I'm currently reading.
We don't have the traditional outdoor statue of Mary that many Catholic homes do (Amy has a beautiful one at her house). We do however have a lovely indoor statue, one that belonged to my father's family. Its comforting presence graces the pale blue bedroom of Earlybird, my youngest son, over whom I feel Our Blessed Mother watches most closely.
So recently I started looking for an outdoor statue of Mary, checking garden shops both online and off. Finally I stopped by our local Carmelite gift shop, sure they would have just the right statue for us. And they did have a statue of Mary, but it was quite larger than I wanted (and much too expensive). Disappointed, I had just turned to go when I saw it ... a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Grace, softly shaded, and just the right size. A quick check of the (very reasonable) price and I was in business. I surprised dear husband and sons with my find as soon as I walked in our door.
Now, if you follow my main blog, By Sun and Candlelight, you know by now how fond we are of the local wildlife, especially birds. So you can imagine our utter delight when we realized that this garden statue of Mary was not simply a statue ~ but a birdfeeder as well!
Oh joy! We hung it on the south side of our potting shed, just above St. Francis himself. We are still planning out what to plant below, as well as something to climb up the shed on that side.
In the meantime, the boys are simply positive that Mary will love being visited ~ not just by us ~ but by our little songbirds as well!
What a beautiful statue! Thank for sharing. I'll have to keep my eyes out for one around here. We have one of those granite statues of Mary from a garden shop, but I'd like something a little nicer and Our Lady of Grace would be perfect for us.
Posted by: Love2learn Mom | May 01, 2006 at 11:56 AM
That is beautiful! I love that it is also a bird feeder, but I can't do that here as we have a cat who is just too adept at catching birds. I don't want to lure the little dears to their deaths!
Posted by: Theresa | May 01, 2006 at 07:17 PM
I'm hoping to get a picture of a little visiting bird eating the seeds ... maybe a chickadee as they practially land on my shoulder when I'm filling the feeders. So far this new feeder has gone untouched.
Theresa, our cats are indoors, but there are a few neighborhood cats who have our yard pegged. Surprisingly, we have never seen them get anything. I worry most about the ground feeders like cardinals, chipmunks and squirrels.
Posted by: Dawn | May 02, 2006 at 05:31 AM
Oh that is beautiful! And functional too. I'd love to see a picture of the birds eating from it, I hope you catch one!
Posted by: Amy | May 03, 2006 at 09:16 AM
It turns out they carry it at Leaflet Missal Company! www.leafletonline.com Turns out I was all prepared when dh asked this morning what I'd like for Mother's Day. :) Thanks for the tip.
Posted by: Love2learn Mom | May 03, 2006 at 01:22 PM
I'm glad you were able to find one! :)
Posted by: Dawn | May 03, 2006 at 07:25 PM
She is lovely and so unique for an outdoor statue - the coloring is gorgeous.
Posted by: Jennifer | May 04, 2006 at 10:39 AM
Simply perfect!! She's beautiful and I know your birds are happier for her presence there, just gorgeous! Thanks for sharing her here!
Posted by: Meredith | May 11, 2006 at 02:14 PM